Charlotte's Trip
by The Creatress
Summary: A girl appears at the school. Her name is Charlotte Snape and she's from the future. She has no idea how or why she managed to travel through time, so while they figure out how to send her back, she'll stay and be a student like Mum and be taught by Dad.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, you know the drill…

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Author's Note:

Creatress: There are many fics where the adults tumble into the future and meet their kids. How about one where the kid falls into the past?

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Charlotte's Trip

Prologue Charlotte

In a seldom-used corridor, with only a few torches to cast a small amount of light across the dark stone walls and floor, a solitary figure jogged and walked, hurrying to get to her destination. Her chestnut curls were flying about wildly behind her and a few strands fell infront of her face, but she paid them no attention, so focussed she was on getting to where she was supposed to be at the time she was supposed to be there. For one scary second, her long black robes seem to entangle both her legs together and the pile of books in her arms almost toppled to the floor, but in an uncharacteristic move of athleticism, she quickly saved herself the embarassment and the trouble. Torn between feeling exasperated at tripping and thankful for not falling, she moved along, determined not to be late.

She hadn't covered three meters when another obstacle presented itself to her.

All of a sudden, something crashed into her from the side and letting out a yelp of surprise, Hermione fell to the floor, losing her books as she reached out and caught whatever had fell on her. The thing rolled off her with a groan and Hermione's eyes widened as she realized it was a person.

"Are you alright?" she asked, sitting up, ignoring the aches that the fall had caused.

The person was girl. Under the dim light, Hermione saw that she had long, straight dark brown hair with side bangs and rather pale skin. The Head Girl couldn't tell the eye colour of this girl, who seemed to be about her age, because her eyes were firmly shut, long, dark lashes grazing against the top of her cheeks. For half a second, Hermione thought that she was gorgeous before shaking her head to rid the thought. The girl seemed to have attractive qualities, yes, but this wasn't the time for thinking about _that_. (She did wonder where the thought had come from, however - she wasn't lesbian and usually didn't even notice good looks in boys). Quickly looking over her clothing, the Head Girl saw that this young woman was indeed a student and from (she squinted under the light) Ravenclaw, judging from her dark blue and bronze scarf.

Hermione picked up her wand, which had fallen beside her. "Enervate."

Nothing happened. The girl didn't stir.

Growing a little fearful, Hermione quickly cleaned up her books and stuffed the whole lot of them into her bag before conjuring a stretched for the girl. She'd have to take her to the school nurse. As she gently placed the young girl on the levitating stretcher and put the girl's bookbag down near her feet, she felt vaguely grateful that now she had a reason to be late for Potions... Shaking her head at such a selfish and uncaring thought, Hermione frowned. Gods, she hoped this girl survived...

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Dumbledore looked the girl over. She was now lying in a hospital bed, black robes, blue scarf and black ankle-high boots removed. She looked even paler under the bright lights of the hospital wing.

She did not go here. Yes, the uniform suggested otherwise, but the headmaster did not recognize her and he knew _everybody_. Oddly, she did look a little familiar, though... "Did Miss Granger say where she fell from?"

"No. There were no doorways or anything. It's like she appeared out of thin air." The mediwitch didn't take her gaze off the young girl. She didn't recognize her either.

Albus frowned. "What did Flitwick say?"

"He didn't know her either."

The headmaster suddenly spotted her girl's bookbag near the foot of the bed. "This is hers?"

"Yes. It was on her when she appeared."

Exchanging a look with the nurse, Albus picked it up and set it down on a nearby chair before opening it. Pulling out a notebook, he flipped the cover open and frowned. "Poppy... You're sure she's alright?"

"Yes, sir. She's just in a deep sleep." Pomphrey scrutinized him. "Why do you ask?"

"Something's wrong..." Albus said. He fingered through the rest of her books. She appeared to be in sixth year. Turning back to the notebook in his hand, Albus couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his lips.

"Albus?" the nurse asked.

"This is dated September, 2016. This girl has travelled through time," the headmaster stated, matter-of-fact.

"What?" Pomphrey asked. "But that's impossible. No one's invented a way to travel back so far."

"They obviously have in the future." Albus pulled a small pouch out of his robes. "Lemon drop?"

Pomphrey frowned at the sweet and shook her head. "What will you do?" she asked.

After popping a small, yellow candy into his mouth, Albus shrugged. "I don't know. We'll just have to keep her here until we figure out a way to send her back." Here, he smiled a little again.

"What are you smiling about?" Pomphrey demanded.

"It worries me to think of how some people may react to her..."

"You smile when you're worried?" For some reason or another, the woman wasn't completely surprised.

Albus returned the pouch to his robes when he saw that the young girl was stirring. "I'll need silence for a few seconds, Poppy." He paused. "Get Severus, will you? Tell him it's an emergency. When he gets here, tell him what's happened." After Pomphrey left, he walked to the side of the bed and placed two fingers at the girl's temples. For a few long moments, he quickly took in the details of the girl's life - her family, a few friends... Certain events, however, were cloudy... He murmured a few things beneath his breath. The last thing he uttered was a little louder: "Spena. S-P-E-N-A." He removed his fingers.

"Speena?" Pomphrey asked. Severus Snape was now standing beside her, looking curiously at the new girl.

"No. Spena. Pronounced Spainya. Like 'El Nina. El N - een -Ya.'" Ignoring the confused look on his colleagues' faces, Albus turned to the girl to find her eyes fluttering open. His smile widened a little when he saw her dark irises. They were familiar in one sense, but quite new in another. "Good afternoon, child."

The girl looked up at him, obviously confused. "Professor?" she asked, softly. Her voice was hoarse.

"Yes..." Albus paused and gave her a kind smile. "What is your name?"

"Charlotte."

Albus glanced at the other two in the room before quickly turning back to her. "Your full name?"

"Charlotte Semele... " Her eyes narrowed here. "Spena," she finished. "Charlotte Semele Spena."

Albus sat down in a nearby chair. "Do you know what year it is?"

"2016," Charlotte replied, starting to get up. Pomphrey was quickly at her side, pushing her back down. Charlotte gave her a puzzled look, but didn't say anything.

"It's 1998."

Charlotte turned to Albus. "1998..." She repeated. She looked away, narrowing her eyes in confusion and disbelief.

"Do you remember what you were doing?"

Charlotte thought for a second, only aware of Dumbledore's voice and a pounding between her brows. "No..." She finally answered. Not completely true. She might have drunk something...

"So this wasn't planned?"

Charlotte's head was starting to hurt. There was breaking glass - she saw it hit the floor.

_Not good._

Clean it up and leave...

Quickly. Now.

_Now!_

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte started visibly when Albus's hand fell on her shoulder, but she didn't turn to him.

"You've travelled through time."

This time, Charlotte turned to him sharply and her eyes flashed in a kind of indignant irritation. Albus almost started a little in shock at the feeling he got when he looked into her eyes then. There - now those dark orbs were completely familiar to him as they showed aggitation that he'd pointed out the obvious. This fact almost made the headmaster laugh out loud. Instead he nodded toward Madam Pomphrey. "Do you know her?"

Charlotte turned and eyed her. "Madam Pomphrey," she stated.

Madam Pomphrey nodded before breaking out into a smile. "Do I still work here in the future?" she asked.

Charlotte nodded, causing the woman in grin in delight.

"How about him?" Albus asked, slowly.

Charlotte turned to Snape, who was gazing back at her with a calculating look in her eye. Charlotte narrowed her eyes as she thought. Albus waited with a baited breath, waiting to see if his magic had done it's work. After what seemed like an hour of silence, Charlotte shook her head. "No."

"Professor Snape?" Albus pressed.

Charlotte didn't even blink under the mention of the name. "No."

Albus rose, trying to hide the pleasure he felt that he'd done his job correctly. "Well, then, I guess you won't be working here by 2016... Or 2009, since Miss Spena is in her sixth year."

Snape smirked wryly at this and didn't try to hide it. And then he frownned. "I was told there was an emergency?"

"Oh, there's a bit of an emergency," Albus intoned. He looked at the nurse and the young girl. "I'm sure Charlotte here has some injuries from the fall she needs to have taken care of." Charlotte opened her mouth to protest, but Albus continued. "I will come by a little later to talk to you about classes."

"Classes?" Charlotte asked. "I'm staying?"

Albus nodded. "Until we can figure out what to do with you."

Charlotte seemed to not know how to react to this as she lay back down. As Pomphrey started fussing over her, Albus stepped out and closed the curtains before turning to Snape. "You aren't going to like this," he stated.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me I'll have to babysit the girl?" he scowled.

Albus looked at him. "No." He glanced at the curtains before turning back to Snape. "When I looked into her thoughts when she was asleep, I couldn't figure out how she managed to time travel. She doesn't know either... Memories of days before the actual moment she stepped into the rift in time are just gone. There are some blank places in the weeks before, as well... Obviously, this whole ordeal has messed with her mind. So, I figured that it was certain that she'd be around for a while. So it seemed necessary to modify her memories and change her name, names of family members, and what they may look like... So that she wouldn't cause trouble - you know, people speculating on her last name or her running into her parents..."

Snape frowned. "What is her real name then?"

Albus didn't answer. "You tried reading her mind just now."

"I couldn't. She seems to know occlumency. Actually quite strong for someone her age."

A small smile appeared on the older man's face. "Makes sense. So you looked into her eyes?"

Snape was starting to grow a little irritated. "Yes. So?"

Albus looked at him. "They weren't... familiar?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "No." He eyed the headmaster. "What are you smiling at?"

Albus sighed and pulled out Charlotte's notebook out of his robes. It was dark green with a golden felt bookmark. "I do appologize if it seems I am not taking this situation seriously. Be assured, I am. I just can't help..." With a small shrug, he held the book out to Snape, who took it from him. "Her name is on the inside cover."

Snape flipped the cover back and looked at it, his heart suddenly thudding loudly in an emotion he couldn't quite place.

In neat, golden cursive: Charlotte S. Snape

"She has your eyes, Severus."

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A/N-

There's the prologue - it's rather short, but, again, it is the prologue. I'm done the first chapter; it'll be up by tuesday afternoon after a bit of editting.

Please review!!

luv

The Creatress


	2. Talk with the Hat

Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, or Mockingbird; Eminem owns that, yadda, yadda, you know the drill…

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Author's Note:

Thank you to everybody who reviewed!!! Trust me, this won't be a regular time turner fic, I've got LOTS of twists and turns lined up for you all, lolz. Enjoy!

luv

The Almighty Creatress

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'If you ask me to

Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird

I'mma give you the world

I'mma buy a diamond ring for you

I'mma sing for you

I'll do anything for you to see you smile

And if that mockingbird don't sing and that ring don't shine

I'mma break that birdie's neck

I'll go back to the jeweler who sold it to ya

And make him eat every carat

Don't fuck with dad.'

_Mockingbird _by Eminem

**Charlotte's Trip**

Chapter 2 - the ReSorting

McGonagall looked up from the book in shock, looking from Albus to Snape and back to Albus. When the headmaster nodded, she turned and fixed her eyes on the Potions Master, and slowly, but surely, a rather sly smile formed on her face. "Oh, she absolutely _must _stay and have a few classes."

Snape scowled, but said nothing.

Remus, who was also present in Dumbledore's office, was blinking, trying to stomach the shock and was looking at the Slytherin unsurely. "Um... Er... Congratulations?" he asked. The scathing glare he recieved quickly shut him up. Flitwick, being the only Ravenclaw in the room, knew better than to make comments and refrained from saying anything.

However, the scowl the Potions Master had directed at McGonagall had gone unnoticed or was lacking its usual amount of menace. "Do you we know who the mother is?"

Albus looked at the deputy headmistress and wondered what would happen if he told her. No doubt her reaction would be priceless, but... "I know. You lot won't," Albus replied, crisply. He turned to Snape. "Especially you, my boy."

Snape didn't answer that. "We must find a way to send that girl back."

"Of course," Albus said. His tone was a little too light for Snape's liking.

"If she stays here, she can mess up the present and the future with her presence alone!"

Albus nodded. "But there isn't much we can do if we don't know how or why she's here in the first place. We'll just have to... What's that saying? Go with the flow." He eyed the staff as if daring them to disagree. Then he continued. "But until we do know everything, she'll have to remain here. There's no other choice."

"What if she runs into someone she recognizes?" Remus sked.

"I've changed her memory so that the names of family have been changed in her mind," Dumbledore explained. "If you were to ask her for her father's name, she should tell you that it's Seth Spena." Seeing that Snape had no reaction to this, he continued. "If anybody asks for her mother's name, she should say Mia Spena."

"Mia?" McGonagall and Remus asked together.

"Mia," Dumbledore shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything better."

"Where did you get the name Spena?" McGongall asked, curiously.

"Charlotte has a bracelet - it has three letters. CSS. Her initials. So, I had to change her last name with something that began with an S. Spena was the best anagram I could create." He paused. "I added an accent over the N to spruce it up."

The three other men in the room looked uncomfortable, not wanting to comment on the headmaster's skills (or lack thereof) at wordplay. McGonagal frowned. "Clever, Albus," she intoned, wryly.

Dumbledore also made a face at his creation. "Yes, I'm a regular Tom Riddle."

McGonagall gave him a look at the reference, but didn't comment. "What house will she be in?" she asked, instead. The other three teachers straightened a little at this.

"Judging from the scarf she wore, she was - or will be - in Ravenclaw."

Flitwick could feel Snape's eyes burning into the back of his head at this point and sunk into his chair. Change the house, change the house, change the -

"And that's where she'll stay."

Flitwick looked dejected - not that he would mind having the girl in his house. He just didn't want to face Snape if something were to happen. As careless and inert as the Potions Master seemed, he would obviously raise hell if something - or someone - that had anything to do with him caught up in trouble. But Flitwick was just too kind and sweet and polite to object.

Snape wasn't. "Sort her again."

Dumbledore and McGonagall looked at him with identical smiles. "Why?" the older man asked.

"I have little faith in Professor Flitwick's abilities to handle time-related emergencies."

Flitwick only looked at Dumbledore, wide-eyed, looking very much like he'd rather be eating slugs than sitting in on this discussion.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at the small wizard before sighing almost defeatedly. "Get Miss Snape - " the corner of his lip quirked here at the mention of the name - "And, Professor Sprout will have to be pulled out of class, as well. We'll put the hat on her."

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Charlotte was curled up in the hospital bed when she woke up. Her curtains were open a crack and she could see Madam Pomphrey talking to another student. Dumbledore had paid them a brief visit earlier in the day to check up on her, but after exchanging a few quiet words with the headmaster, Pomphrey wasn't the same around Charlotte. The younger girl noticed the nurse looking at her rather contemplatively and wonderingly. More than a few times, Charlotte was tempted to tell her that she wasn't this annoying in the future.

Currently, the nurse was leading the student deeper into the wing and a few moments later, returned alone and started making her way over to Charlotte. Charlotte briefly entertained the idea of pretending to sleep, but decided it would look healthier if she was awake. The healthier she was, the sooner they'd let her out of here.

Pomphrey came in and held out her wand. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"Fine. May I leave?"

Pomphrey looked taken aback at the girl's bluntness, but then smiled, and shook her head. She started waving her wand over the young girl, checking her temperature, heartbeat, blood pressure... "Not yet."

Charlotte sighed, loudly. "This is the fourth time you've checked up on me today."

"I'm a mediwitch. It's what I do."

Charlotte frowned. A moment later, she said, "When I was sick at home, my mother never checked _this _often. Maybe once every two hours or something."

Pomphrey was suddenly looking at Charlotte with excitement. "Did she now? But she's not a mediwitch. Tell me, what does she do?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Pomphrey's sudden interest. "She was. A mediwitch, I mean. Or will be. Or is..." Charlotte suddenly stared off into space and frowned, doing some quick calculations in her head. Then she sat up, eyes wide. "My mother should be in her final year here now."

Pomphrey's jaw dropped open. "What?!" she shrieked.

Charlotte frowned in irritation and then leaned toward her. "My mother should be in her final year here now!" she repeated in a louder voice. She then noticed that the curtains had been thrown back and turned to see someone familiar. "Hello, Professor Flitwick."

The wizard stared at her. "Your mother should be _what_?" he asked.

Before Charlotte could respond, the infirmary doors burst open and Snape came in, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What's taking so long?!" he demanded.

Flitwick was now looking at Snape, wary and contemplative. He took a deep breath. "Nothing. It's nothing." He noticed the younger wizard narrow his eyes in suspicion and quickly turned away, not wanting to be the victim of Snape's legilimency skills at the moment. If anybody wanted to break the twenty-two year age difference Snape would suffer (or enjoy???) in the future, Dumbledore could tell him and then suffer the consequences. He turned back to Charlotte and smiled kindly at her. "So sorry for that rude entrance, my dear. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his hand.

Charlotte jumped out of bed and shook hands with him, glad to have a reason to get out. "You, as well, I guess," she mumbled. At Flitwick's curious expression, she added, "It's wierd because I already know you."

Flitwick nodded understandingly and looked at her for a second. She had many of Snape's features, but she was an attractive girl. Pale skin seemed to suit her, her large dark eyes were full of warmth and lined with long, thick black lashes, her black eyebrows were thin and elegant, and even his hooked nose added to her beauty... The nose was considerably smaller on her though, but the shape was there. He then eyed her hair... He'd seen those straight, chestnut tresses before... Somewhere, on someone... He couldn't quite place where though... He also thought her smile was familiar.

"I understand," Flitwick said. "I wish I could stand here and chat with you about the future, but that probably wouldn't be the best thing to do. Besides, the headmaster would like to see you in his office."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Flitwick eyed the raised eyebrow and nodded. "Yes." He then looked her in the eyes. "He would like to put the Sorting Hat on you again."

Charlotte looked at him. "Excuse me if this comes off as..." She frowned. "_Suckupish... _It's not, I assure you - why can't I just stay in Ravenclaw?"

Flitwick frowned. "I don't know, Charlotte. Would you like to tell her, Professor?"

Snape glowered at the back of Flitwick's head. The little wizard had not been able to find the bravery to face him when he said that. Inwardly rolling his eyes, Snape turned to Charlotte, who was looking at him expectantly. "Dumbledore's office. Now."

Charlotte frowned, eyes flashing, but didn't argue. "Let me get dressed first," she stated, voice even.

For two agonizingly slow seconds, Flitwick was caught in the middle of Snape and Charlotte subtley glowering at each other. There wasn't menace on their faces, but the air grew noticable thicker. Flitwick glanced at Charlotte and started a little. He now had something else to add onto the list of similarities between father and daughter - they both _glared _the same way. "Merlin," he said, softly. He looked a little closely at her. "You do have your father's eyes."

Charlotte didn't have a chance to respond before Snape growled a little in irritation. He grabbed the curtains around her bed. "Dress!" he barked before whipping the curtains shut.

Charlotte scowled, blackly as she started pulling her stockings on. As she did, she thought she heard Flitwick let out a little squeak from the other side of the curtain. She glanced curiously at it for half a second before shoving a foot into her boot and lacing it up. Then she did so with the second before picking up her robes and slipping them on.

She clasped her silver bracelet with the CSS charms onto her right wrist before picking up a rather large and masculine silver watch with a black face and slipping it onto her left. It was loose on her small hand, and Charlotte shook her hand a bit, trying to remember when and why she'd bought it. She did like it, though... It made her feel good inside - it was quite handsome. Turning her attention away from the watch, she picked her two long, but simple sterling silver earrings and put them on. The last thing there was a silver necklace with one, small saphire pendant. This was special - it was her mother's. She picked it up and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Beneath the coils of the silver chain had been a ring. It was gold with a large, black stone. It wasn't hers... That was a friend's, she remembered... Why did she have it? She picked it up and carefully put it away into her bookbag for safekeeping, feeling an irritated sigh coming up.

Charlotte _hated _not knowing things. It made her feel stupid, small and weak. Not being able to remember something was even worse because the fault lies within yourself for forgetting whatever it was in the first place.

She tried thinking back to the last thing she remembered doing. Breaking glass. An empty vile smashing against a dark, stone floor. Her head hurt...

Rubbing her fingers against her temple, she decided to give up this battle... The war was far from over, however.

She picked her bookbag and threw it over her shoulder. Her scarf was still lying, almost expectantly, on the chair. After a moment's thought, she picked it up and stubbornly threw it around her shoulders. After all, she wasn't given a reason for her ReSorting, now, was she?

Charlotte then braced herself and whipped the curtains back. She stepped out to see that Flitwick was gone. Only Snape was there and she glared mutinously at him.

The Potions Master only gave her a look that clearly said "the feeling's mutual" before turning around. "Follow me," he stated.

Well, _obviously_. Charlotte started jogging a little to keep up with him. "What happened to Professor Flitwick?" she asked.

A small smirk appeared on Snape's face. "He's... rather occupied, at the moment." But, he didn't say anything else.

"You've done something to him, haven't you?" Charlotte wanted to ask, but didn't. He wouldn't elaborate and she somehow knew this for a fact. The girl studied him. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't quite place what.

They made their way in silence, students giving her glances that lasted more than two seconds. They weren't of curiosity. Nobody was wondering who she was; any of the older students who saw her took in her small frame and decided that she was a younger student and the younger students passed her for someone who was not in their year. The looks were, in actuality, sympathetic. Any student who was seen following Snape anywhere got a whole pile from the student body and even some of the staff.

They reached the gargoyle, which quickly stepped aside when it saw who was coming.

For no particular reason, other than just to spite Snape, Charlotte quickly ducked under him and bolted up the stairs ahead of him. Petty disobediance, but disobediance, nonetheless.

The Potions Master was a little taken aback by this random act. He would have thought that any child he'd raise would know better than to cross certain people. On another level, her defiant attitude, however vague, appealed to him. He allowed himself his first small smirk concerning the girl before making his way up the spiral staircase.

Having the girl in the castle was highly unappealing. It was just... wierd... to have your future child running around. Especially because he'd never thought of getting married - he must be married in the future if the girl had his name - or adopting.

Dumbledore had brought up the fact with him last Valentine's Day. The man had come up to him and exclaimed, _"Get married and have kids!" _Snape simply eyed his vomitrocious pink dress robes and long, gleaming white hair pointedly and snarked _"Ladies first."_ Dumbledore had looked reproachfully at him. _ "Do it now before you get too old." _Snape had glowered at him. _ "You do it first!" _he'd dared. Dumbledore had looked at him rather dubiously. _"I __**am **__too old!"_ His Slytherin mind yelling at him to get the headmaster into trouble, Snape had raised an eyebrow and smirked slyly before turning around and yelling for McGonagall. When she appeared, he'd glanced at Dumbledore, who looked flabbergasted, and turned back to McGonagall. _"It's Valentine's Day and Albus here has something to ask you,"_ he stated before swiftly escaping the scene, leaving the two Gryffindors in a terribly awkward situation. The days following had been quite interesting - and not to mention _highly_ amusing.

In any case, he never, ever planned to get married or adopt and he could not come up with one good reason as to why he may do either or in the future. Actually, he had one reason - being the idiots that they were, maybe the Ministry would pass a Marriage Law that forced all single wizards to marry and maybe Albus would pressure him into marrying some witch or another? Or an Adoption Act where it would be mandatory for him to take a child in?

Snape thought of Charlotte and brushed the adoption theory aside. She couldn't be adopted - as much as he hated to admit it, she did have quite a bit of his features. A while ago when they were glowering at one another, he'd focussed on her eyes to read her thoughts and had a sudden startling feeling of staring too deeply into a mirror.

This wasn't good.

Anybody who knew him well should know that he would not be fit to raise a child and Charlotte would do well to prove them right. She already had... Nobody - including himself - noticed that she had his eyes until she _glared _at someone. Before she did, no one would believe her to be related to him, whether she had his name or his eyes.

There were many differences in them though... She was small, even for a girl, which contrasted sharply with his tall, towering frame. Her lips were fuller than his own and darker. Her locks were straight and shiny and a dark brown. His were just straight; rather lanky when they weren't oily from brewing potions all day and inky black, blacker than his eyes. Also, her smile... It was familiar, but it was _not _his. Her kind and warm personality in front of Flitwick was very different from his own behaviour, even his behaviour for those close to him.

Charlotte was waiting for him infront of the headmaster's office doors, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips and as soon as he came within her line of vision, Snape replaced his amused smirk with a stoic expression. Even as he did this, he could feel something knock against his hardened heart, but he quickly pushed that temporary emotion aside, not liking the feel of it any bit. He merely snarled breifly at her before knocking. The doors immediately flung open and the headmaster called to them to come in.

Swallowing down a feeling of nervousness that had suddenly appeared, Charlotte bounded in and beamed enthusiastically at everyone in the room, looking like angel on earth that nobody would ever consider to be related to the scowling man behind her.

Save for Dumbledore and Flitwick, who'd both already met her, every other teacher in the room simply gawked at her for a second before remembering themselves. Sprout simply smiled warmly at her, but didn't do much else, believing that no child of Snape's would ever end up in Hufflepuff.

McGonagall came right up to her and took her hand. "Hello, Ms. Spena," she said, a certain tone in her voice that Charlotte couldn't quite place.

"Professor," Charlotte greeted, giving her a smile nonetheless.

The Gryffindor head of house gave her the slightest of smiles in return before ushering Remus Lupin over.

The DADA teacher had been quietly watching the young girl from the side of the room, going through the shocks of similarities and differences between her and Snape as everyone else had. "Charlotte," Remus greeted as he took her hand. She smiled at him, but looked quizically at him and he also felt a jab of familiarity at her smile, but didn't pause. "I'm Professor Lupin."

Charlotte froze, her smile slipping away, and her hand tightened around his. She looked at him, the quizical expression replaced with wonder as she took in his curious expression. Her voice was so soft when she spoke that everybody in the room almost missed it. "Uncle Remus?"

Lupin blinked for twice before breaking out into a wide grin. "Really?"

Charlotte only smiled softly in reply. "This is so wierd. You look so much... "

"Younger?"

Charlotte suddenly looked away. "Older," she said, glancing timidly at him.

Lupin looked surprised and then indecisive. "I'm not quite sure how to feel about that."

Dumbledore was watching this scene with a small smile, trying not to meet Snape's eyes. Finally he glanced at him pointedly before saying softly, "It would have been cruel and pointedly stupid to change everybody in her mind."

Snape didn't respond to this, but only eyed Lupin with contempt and Charlotte with disbelief. "What a sad and insane future we'll live in..."

Lupin shot him a look of mock reproach before nodding kindly at Charlotte and stepping away.

"Charlotte," Dumbledore suddenly spoke up. Charlotte turned to him and he continued. "With the exception of the entire staff, we're going to tell everybody that you're a transfer student from the Donna Academy in Canada." He paused. "All the heads of houses are here. We're going to sort you now." The girl only nodded.

McGonagall brought out the stool and picked up the hat before placing it on Charlotte after she sat down. She was still small enough that it covered her eyes and she closed them.

"Well, well, well..." the hat murmured, coming to life.

"Well what?" Snape had a sudden urge to ask, but kept quiet.

'What is it?' Charlotte thought.

"I have rarely graced the same head twice."

'...You know what you said to me in the future?'

"Yes, and I stand by it."

'Stand by it?'

The hat spoke directly into her head this time. _My indecisiveness in the future; I stand by it today as well. However, if you hadn't voiced your opinions when you did, I would have come to a decision in the end. I always do._

'Then come to one today.'

"Oh?"

'Tell me where you would have placed me. My parents aren't around to make a fuss of it here. Well, my mother is, but I hardly believe the students will be informed that I'm from the future, so I doubt she'd mind, if she'd spare me a second glance.'

The hat chuckled wryly. "Clever..." Save for Snape, the teachers glanced at each other again. The hat thought her to be clever. _But I do believe you've missed something. Wasn't there another pushing factor?_

'My father's not here either.'

The hat didn't respond for a second. "Is that so?" he finally asked.

Charlotte froze. Her father had taught her mother throughout all her years at Hogwarts. If Mia Spena was here, so was... Seth? No, that wasn't right... He was head of Slytherin, meaning he had to be in the room, and there was no Seth Spena in the room... Seth...

She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed beneath the rim of the hat. That sounded wrong. Seth...

Seth.

Severus.

Who?

'I know that name,' Charlotte thought.

The hat didn't respond.

'Who is that?' Charlotte then thought, pressing the matter.

'You tell me, Charlotte.'

Charlotte tried to clear her mind... But, as many intelligent teenagers did before her, she had a bit of trouble thinking of nothing. As she did, she vaguely noticed a thumping start between her eyes. 'Can't you just tell me?' she asked in frustration.

'No.'

'Seth Spena...' The name sounded wrong even in her thoughts. The thumping grew a little harder as her head started to hurt. 'Seth Spena... Severus Spena...'

'Well?'

'Severus T. Spena.'

'Who is that?' the hat asked her.

'It's wrong. It sounds wrong. It's Severus T. something...'

'Your father?'

Charlotte didn't reply as something occurred to her. 'He could be here, but maybe I'm wrong. Why are we talking about him anyway? This is my Sorting, isn't it? Gods, I can't wait to get home...'

"This is why you'd do well in Slytherin," the hat said. The teachers straightened at this. "That coolness - "

'Oh, bloody hell, who the hell sent me back anyway?! As soon as I find out, I'm going to rearrange their thoughts to make them believe in fucking tooth fairies so that they'll sleep on their teeth after I hex them out of their damn mouth! It's unjust to randomly send people through time and mess with their heads!'

"...But then you think something like that and I lean toward Gryffindor..."

McGonagall grinned and Snape scowled.

'No!'

"Why?"

'... I don't know...'

_About twenty-three years from, you'll tell me that you don't want to be in Slytherin because that would immediately be related to your father and not in Gryffindor because that's where your mother was. You've grown up with well-known parents - they'd established quite a bit by the time you'd ride into this castle and you don't always want to be known as So-and-So's daughter. You want to make a name for yourself and therefore wanted to distance yourself from them and their legacies._ "A strong desire to prove yourself. Quite Gryffindor."

Charlotte had no reply to this. 'Go ahead and put me where ever you feel the need to. It doesn't count, can it? I'll go away and go back to Ravenclaw where I belong. Besides, I'm curious.'

"Curiosity... Also Gryffindor. There's also the bravery - you know that curiosity killed the cat but you'd go with it anyway."

Snape scowled blackly and McGonagall was practically rubbing her hands together in delight.

Charlotte smirked from beneath the hat. "_I'm_ not a cat."

"Ah... Wit. That's Slytherin. There's slyness and cunning here, as well - fits in nicely with the lack of Gryffindor respect for the rules." The teachers fully straightened and looked around pointedly at one another, not quite knowing what to think. Snape was the only one wearing a small smirk at this recent development. Dumbledore was watching with a soft smile. "And you have more ambition than both your parents combined. _That's _saying something."

'What? Only a tad...'

The hat almost shrugged. "Your parents are a tad ambitious. You Know Who is a tad evil."

Everyone except Snape and Dumbledore were looking at eachother. _'What girl do we know has a lot of ambition?'_

'If my mother was so ambitious, why isn't she in Slytherin?'

"Actually, your mother had quite a few Slytherin traits. You didn't get yours from her, however. Except ambition, her other Slytherin traits were actually vague - only coming up on rare occasions. Yours are much _stronger_. I would say that not only has someone passed them to you genetically, but has spent a good amount of time nurturing them."

Everyone turned to Snape, who ignored them all, pleased that he'd nurtured Charlotte's inner serpent while mentally berating the hat for taking part in "OoOoOo - Snape'll-Have-A-Daughter-Let's-Repeatedly-Remind-Him Fest.'

"So... Which one, which one? Gryffindor or Slytherin?" The hat then started to hum in thought. "Eeny meeny miynee mo, pit of snake or den of lion; Which of the two will Charlotte SsssSemele be in?"

McGonagall glanced at Snape with a hard, determined look. Snape ignored her, inwardly rooting for Slytherin, to save his reputation if not for his child's welfare.

The Sorting Hat then opened its mouth and declared,

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

A/N

Sorry to Hermione fans - She'll be here next chapter. Very long, lengthy scene with her. :) Please review!


	3. The Thing About Babel Fish

Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, you know the drill… I also don't own Babel fish.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Author's Note:

A big THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed!! You guys made my WEEK!! I was having the crappiest week ever - midterms and everything (I'm failing accounting...:(...), and reading all your reviews really cheered me up.

Here's chapter 2 - enjoy!

luv

The Creatress

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Charlotte's Trip

Chapter 2 - The Thing About Babel Fish...

"RAVENCLAW!"

For two seconds, there was a shocked silence. Charlotte blinked repeatedly beneath the rim before unsurely reaching up and adjusting it to fit over her eyes to peek out at the teachers who were staring, incredulously. "Umm... Shall I do it again?" she asked.

Dumbledore was smiling. "No, I think that should suffice. Does everybody agree?"

As Flitwick gave Charlotte an open and welcoming smile, McGonagall and Snape simultaneously demanded "Why?!"

Still resting on Charlotte's head, the hat almost looked like it shrugged. "She has her heart set on Ravenclaw. Yes, she has many Gryffindor and Slytherin qualities, but there is also an undeniable thirst for knowledge in her. Besides, Ravenclaw will be better for her than either houses of lion or snake, as you shall see in the near future... and the future far off."

"I'm sorry, Charlotte," Dumbledore said then. "I'm afraid we must strip you of the prefect status." He ignored the teachers looking confusedly at him. She was wearing a badge -

Charlotte only shrugged. "Expected. I already took my badge off."

The headmaster smiled. "Keep it safe, Charlotte. I'm sure we'll find a way to send you home, and you'll need it then." Charlotte only smiled softly at this statement. "Well, then," the headmaster spoke up again. "I guess Professor Flitwick should show you to your room."

After Flitwick had ushered Charlotte out of the room, Snape swept off to the dungeons, not exactly sure how he should feel about the Sorting. On the one hand, he wouldn't have to spend a large amount of time with her, which nicely spared him the awkwardness that would surely follow. On the other hand, his daughter was in Ravenclaw. Sure, there were other places which were far off... For a few seconds during the Sorting, he had been truly scared... But, still. _Ravenclaw..._

Lupin had started trotting after McGonagall after she left the office in a huff. "Why did you want her?" he inquired, curiously.

McGonagall glanced at him, but didn't slow down. "Why do you think? Uncle Remus?"

"One, you wanted to test Severus' child yourself and poke fun at him with any fault you might find. Rather cruel, I might add. Two, keeping her with you would give you more opportunities to find clues about her mother. Rather pointless..." He stopped when McGonagall did, but pretended not to notice the sharp look she was giving him. Lupin frowned, truly puzzled. "Was that 'Uncle Remus' thing supposed to be an insult?"

The older woman only stared evenly at him. "One, I just wanted to see what Charlotte is like. Taking it to Severus? Only when the outcome would be truly amusing. Cruel? Yes. Two. Yes, I want information. Pointless? Hardly. You're just as curious as me." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Admit it."

"I'm curious," Lupin conceded. Then, added, "I'm not stupid." At McGonagall's blank look, he elaborated. "If you do anything, Severus would kill you." He then changed his mind. "Actually, no, he would keep you alive and cause you the worst pain imaginable."

The deputy headmistress only snorted. "He's as curious as either one of us."

"He would want to find out himself," Lupin exclaimed, exasperated. "Out of anybody on staff, he would want you to be the last to know! Not even Trelawney would make as big a deal out of this, and she'd be using the information to make random predictions about his future affairs."

McGonagall was looking thoughtfully at him. "You know? You're right."

Lupin looked relieved. "So you'll leave Charlotte alone?"

McGonagall shook her head. "No, you're right about Severus' reaction. I hate to admit this, but I wouldn't last too long in a duel with him. Also, Charlotte probably wouldn't trust me as much to tell me about herself..." Lupin noticed too late that there was a calculating look in the woman's eyes as she looked at him. Before the DADA Professor could bolt, McGonagall had an iron grip on his shoulder. "You'll have to help me."

"Why?!" Lupin whined.

"Because you have a half chance in a fight with Severus. And Charlotte obviously trusts you." McGonagall paused before adding. "The 'Uncle Remus thing' was a compliment." She smirked. "Uncle Remus."

xXxXxXxXx

As it was the middle of the day, the common room was sparesly populated when Flitwick and Charlotte passed through this. Students barely glanced at them. Flitwick showed her to the sixth years' dorm room and and pointed out an empty bed. He then wished her good luck before leaving.

Charlotte tossed her bag and scarf onto the bed before sitting down on the edge to think. How the hell was she going to get back? She didn't like it in the past - she was confused, alone, totally unprepared... She didn't even have a change of clothes, for God's sake! She wished she had someone to talk to... At home, in the future, she had her best friend, Elizabeth House. Or her boyfriend, Tom Elder - they'd been fighting a bit lately, but he was still there. If worst came to worst, she would always write to her mother or her grandmother. Now, Elizabeth and Tom didn't exist as yet and she obviously couldn't write her mother or grandmother. So there was no one to share the ache and fear with - the ache of being alone, of being a feeling like a Martian on Earth and fear of what may happen to her if she couldn't get back.

Why would she have wanted to travel through time anyways?! As she thought about this, she suddenly saw the breaking glass again and she could have sworn she'd heard the vial hitting the ground and exploding into a thousand shards.

"Are you alright?"

Charlotte started and turned toward the doorway.

A small, blonde girl quietly closed the door behind her as she looked at Charlotte with a concerned expression. "You... You look unwell."

Charlotte glanced at the mirror. Her cheeks were a bit flush and her eyes were glazed over. With unshed tears, she realized. She quickly turned away and blinked before wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "It's nothing."

The blonde looked as if she didn't believe her, but didn't say anything. She simply walked over to the bed next to Charlotte's and sat down so that she was facing the new girl. "I'm Luna Lovegood. I don't believe I've seen you here before?"

Ignoring the loud thump in her chest, Charlotte gave her a small smile, pleased that she'd found one of her mother's closest friends - her own Godmother. Also, Luna wasn't pressing the issue of her being ill. "You haven't. My name's Charlotte Spena."

"Hello, Charlotte," Luna said. "Welcome."

"Thank you."

"How long have you been here?"

"Just a day." Charlotte looked around the room. "Is it always this empty?"

"Classes just finished," Luna said. "I come up here to be alone for a while."

"Ah..." Charlotte murmured, growing uncomfortable. The formal greetings were exchanged, and now the conversation was dying out. "Where's the library?"

Luna looked at her. "I was about to go down there myself. I'm supposed to study with a friend. You can come," she offered.

Charlotte shrugged. "I suppose. I just need to get some work done. Your friend wouldn't mind?"

Luna smiled, widely. "No, Hermione's very nice." She paused. "A little disagreeable at times, but she's very kind." She looked at Charlotte. "Did you need any help?"

"With course work?" Charlotte asked. Luna nodded and Charlotte smiled a bit. _Hardly. _"Not really."

"Well, we should get going before she gets too wrapped up in a book to help me," Luna remarked, off-handedly, reaching for her book bag and rummaging through it. She added a few more notebooks from her trunk and stood up. "I'm ready," she announced.

Charlotte simply picked up her book bag. "Let's go."

xXxXxXxXxXx

The Potions Master paced in the dungeons for less than a minute before snapping out of his confused and dazed state. He quickly made his way to the library and picked up every book he could find on time travel in order to find information to help him send Charlotte back. As he stalked through the shelves, he brooded on the subject when a realization hit him. He just didn't want her around. He didn't. Not now, and preferably, not _ever_.

Having a child was annoying, and this was the nicest way of putting it. He knew that the staff would be testing and judging him every time they tested and judged her. He didn't care about their opinions him; he never had. But the amount of bullshit he knew they would bug him with was staggering. Also, there was the little matter of Charlotte's mother. No doubt McGonagall and Hooch would bring up every woman in existence - "It must be her." "No, not smart enough. It must be this one." and so on, and so on.

As he wondered exactly why he didn't want her around, he thought back to the Sorting. If he couldn't stand her presence, why did he want her in Slytherin? Pride. The answer came quickly and surely. Anything with the name "Snape" attached to it must go to House of Serpent. Earlier, he'd let his house pride control his actions - the whereabouts of his child had been nothing more than a game. It was nothing more than a Quidditch match; a mere question of who would answer the question correct and get the two points for his house. It was not until she was out of his presence did the full weight of the situation settle on him. That girl had to be sent back before something terrible happened.

He sent the books to the dungeons and left the library. Doing something to get rid of her would be his top priority until then. Charlotte was heavy on his thoughts and he knew she'd be the constant stress on his mind until she was gone. Nothing in the world could make him feel better by making him think of anything else, he decided, soberly.

The Potions Master was proven wrong only two seconds later.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

The fact that she was supposed to be helping Luna with Potions was at the very back of Hermione's mind, as she walked as quickly as she could down a stairwell, trying to balance the large fish tank in her hands. It was made of sound-proof, safety glass ("For the fish's protection on many levels... Especially in case the owl drops it," her father had said), but she still wanted to be very careful. These fish were so precious in the muggle world, and would be even more so in the Wizarding world - because they'd never even heard about them. No book mentioned them, no professor knew about them... Why, the brunette didn't know, but they would if she succeeded with what she was planning. She glanced at the small, yellow fish and hurried along.

There had been a pattern in Hermione's day, but she hadn't noticed. It seemed that everytime she hurried down a hallway: One, her hands were full of something that would be an absolute bother to pick up if she dropped, and Two, someone kept knocking into her.

Even as the hard, aggitated "Ms. Granger!" rang out through the hallways, Hermione wasn't paying much attention to the man infront of her. Her mouth open in a small "o," she quickly reached down and picked up the tank, making sure the fish were alright before turning to Snape and preparing for a dress down.

Snape, who had been scowling blackly at her, was now looking at the tank. "_What _are those?" he asked, contemptuously.

"They're Babel fish," Hermione answered, simply. They weren't in class; he was already annoyed with her; she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, and therefore, she was keeping her answers small and simple.

Snape looked at her now, the scowl gone to be replaced by a slight frown. "The only pets allowed in the school are owls, cats and rats."

"They're not pets. They're for an experiment." Hermione glanced at the fish and broke out into a wide grin. "I'm going to try making translators out of them!"

Snape met her gaze evenly, wondering if the young woman before him had finally snapped. "Ms.Granger, out of all the crazy stunts you've tried to pull, this is the worst. Those are fish. Non-magical fish. Fish aren't translators."

"Their digestive systems are!" Hermione retorted. At the look she recieved, she continued. "Babel fish are very special creatures in the sense that they're the only known species who are able to withdraw nutrients from sound waves. After consuming the sound waves and digesting them, the waste that is passed are very similar to human brain waves. And so, in the fish's digestive system, you have your translation."

Snape didn't look impressed. "If that were true, how do plan on utilizing their... er... _gift_?"

"The only method anyone's developed as yet would be to put a live fish into the ear canal and let it perform the translation. As you can imagine, this would be highly inconvient and uncomfortable."

"Not to mention disgusting," Snape muttered. "So one speaks in a language and the fish would translate it into English?"

Hermione didn't answer so quickly. "Theoretically."

Snape pressed on, knowing he'd found a weak spot. "There are many holes in that theory... What if the fish is housed in a German's ear and a duck was quacking nearby?" he asked, smirking smugishly. "The fish translates duck to German?"

This didn't make any sense and she knew it. Hermione looked at him and braced herself again. "I doubt it. The fish don't speak different languages, Sir..."

"Then it wouldn't be a translator."

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to keep her cool. "No one has ever tested the fish on ducks and Germans. In fact, very few tests have been done - the fish are rare. It seems highly improbable that they would translate duck to German, but - "

"Ms. Granger, the question is, if I were a German trying to understand duck, would the fish translate for me?"

Feeling quite irritated, but otherwise unharmed (his words didn't hurt so much anymore - after seven years of listening to him, she'd just gotten used it. Now more than ever, she took it as a challenge), Hermione bent her head to quietly admit defeat... For the time being.

"It would."

Hermione turned around and Snape looked up over her shoulder.

Charlotte and Luna were just walking up to her.

"I'm sorry?" Snape asked, voice low.

The two girls came to a stop beside a puzzled Hermione.

"It would translate duck into German," Charlotte stated. "Theoretically, the fish consumes and uses what's known as "noise" - things that block effective communication between different species, difference of language being one of them. What the fish would do is intake everything the duck says, use the noise, and pass brain waves. Human brain waves. It's not that the fish is going to speak German - it just gives the human the brain waves to work with. The brain would then process the waves in whatever language it usually works in - English, German - and eventually figures out what the duck is trying to say."

Hermione was looking angry at herself. _Of course..._

Charlotte was speaking again. "The only problem that you would have with your duck friend would be..." She shrugged, her voice trailing off.

"If your brain isn't capable of working with brain waves," Hermione finished, the corner of her lip quirking a bit.

Charlotte smirked for a half a second and the two girls looked at eachother, not quite knowing what to think of the other. They didn't have much time to dwell on one another, however - at the moment, they had a common enemy.

Simultaneously, they both turned and looked up at the Potions Master, challenging looks in both their eyes.

Snape didn't know what to think. He'd just lost a scientific debate to two teenagers. One part of him thought he might be proud of his daughter, but this was overshadowed by the fact that, the bottom line was, _he _lost to two _teenaged _girls. Something else occurred to him, and the thought made him shudder... But it would also make Granger uncomfortable, so, hoping to induce what would no doubt be an interesting rivalry, he decided to voice it. "Well, well," he said, slowly and smirked. "It seems that the school has acquired yet another know-it-all." Unfortunately for Snape, neither chestnut-haired know-it-all seemed to be bothered by this. He almost sighed out loud - these two were so tiresome. He grudgingly relented this battle. "Carry on," he muttered and waved them away.

"Yes, Sir," the two brunettes murmured before bolting toward the library.

Luna, an incredulous look on her face, gaped at him and the spot where her two friends used to be before taking off after them.

Snape scowled and started on his rounds, after glancing around to make sure that no one had witnessed his humiliation. Major point deductions would take place today...

The only good thing he could see about Charlotte being here now was that maybe (dare he think such a thing) she was smarter than Granger and her catching the lead in the marks would dampen the Gryffindor's spirits, causing her to finally shut up in his class. On the other hand, maybe Granger would just become more competitive in an attempt to take the lead again. That, he did _not _need...

There was also the fact that his child was Know-It-All. He outwardly shuddered... Granger had just toned it down a bit, and he had been starting to relax, but now there was another one. He only hoped that he'd raised his daughter to respect others' nerves and keep to herself in Potions'...

xXxXxXxXxXx

"That was absolutely incredible!" Hermione exclaimed. "I can't believe I'd forgotten about brain waves. If you hadn't shown up when you did..." Her voice trailed off and she smiled. "Thank you, Charlotte."

They were sitting around a table in the library, the tank of fish disillusioned and under Hermione's chair.

"You're welcome, Hermione," Charlotte responded. She paused, hesitating. "Is he always so...?"

Hermione gave her a small smile. "Snarky?" she asked. After Charlotte nodded, Hermione smiled softly. "He's a good man, underneath it all."

Charlotte blinked and glanced at Luna, who was buried in an issue of the Quibbler before turning back to Hermione. "You didn't answer the question," she pointed out.

Hermione propped open a book. "Yes, he's snarky," she admitted. She then quickly added, "I couldn't stand him when I first came here. But after a while, it grows... almost... endearing." At Charlotte's blank look, she shrugged. "Just give it time. Seven years."

Charlotte looked at her, quizzically. "Why do you feel the need to validate him?"

Luna spoke up then, without looking up from the magazine in her hands. "It's amazing how, even after seven years of abuse, she remains steadfastedly loyal to him."

Hermione scowled at her. "_You _should be studying." Without warning, she plucked the magazine out of Luna's hands and started tutoring her. Charlotte turned to her book and was soon engrossed.

About an hour and a half passed before Luna put her book down. "That's it for me," she announced. "I'm going to go out and look for Gelries."

Charlotte glanced up, a soft smile gracing her features as she thought of her Godmother's obsession with mythical beings in the future as well. "Good luck," she murmured before turning back to her book.

Hermione also glanced up and nodded, a slight frown on her face. "Bye," she said, turning back to her book.

Luna said goodbye, packed her things and left. Another twenty minutes passed by in silence before Charlotte put her book down. "This book is so..." she muttered.

Hermione looked at the cover. "Vague?"

Charlotte nodded.

"I thought so, too. I ended up buying another one at Flourish and Blotts that goes deeper into the subject."

"Do you have it?" Charlotte asked, eagerly.

Hermione looked sorry. "No, it's at home. I can ask my parents to send it."

"Thank you," Charlotte murmured, grateful. She glanced out the window. It was late January and the sun was starting to set, though it was only about five. "I am so unprepared right now."

"How so?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"You know I'm new, but I had to move in such a rush, I'm missing a few textbooks. And a change of clothes. Not to mention, hygiene products, like a toothbrush..." Charlotte listed, just rememering this now.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Why? What happened?"

Charlotte flushed a little and turned away, thinking quickly. "Family emergencies."

"Oh," Hermione said, quietly. She didn't ask any questions, not knowing how the girl would react. They weren't close enough for her to consider Hermione to be a confidante just yet. "If you want, I can ask Professor McGonagall's permission to take you to Hogsmeade. We should be able to pick up some stuff there."

"Thanks, but I don't have my money here either," Charlotte said. She frowned. This would bring up a lot of problems.

"It's okay. I can buy whatever you need now," Hermione offered.

Charlotte looked sideways, at her. "Thanks, but - "

"Don't even try arguing. There's no way you'll get around here without books," Hermione said. Then, as if it was an afterthought, added, "And hygiene products." She shut the book that was open in front of her and started packing her things away. "Come on then. Let's go."

"Fine, but I will pay you back," Charlotte said, starting to put her things away as well.

Hermione glanced at her and smiled. "Of course." Something occurred to her. "Maybe we should ask Professor Flitwick if you can leave. I mean, I can come and go whenever I want, but you're only in sixth year."

Charlotte nodded and they left the library to find Flitwick in his office. After Hermione stated her case, Flitwick frowned.

"Going out? Now? But it's already 5:00."

"Charlotte needs her stuff," Hermione said. "I mean, how can she go to class without the necessary equipment? Please, Sir. I'll have her back as soon as possible."

Flitwick thought, trying to make a decision. Here were two very intelligent young women - they should be able to go shopping and make it back alive. But how would Snape react if he found out if he let Charlotte leave the castle? The Slytherin was obviously very protective of her; that's why he'd wanted her in house of Slytherin with him. Charlotte wasn't exactly his daughter just yet, but there seemed to be a strong paternal instinct in Snape that would result in the smaller wizard getting killed if something were to happen... But Hermione was right; Charlotte couldn't go to classes without her stuff.

Flitwick finally sighed. "Fine, Hermione, just because it's you. I'm trusting you," he added, almost pleadingly.

Hermione nodded, all serious. "Yes, Sir."

"Make sure _nothing _happens to her. It's against the rules to let a sixth year leave the school unscheduled."

Hermione nodded again. "I will, Sir."

Flitwick nodded and gave her a trusting smile. "Be back by 7:00."

Hermione lifted her eyebrows. "Sir, we'd need half an hour to get there. An hour and a half is hardly enough time."

Flitwick frowned in worry. "How long would you need?"

"8:30?" Hermione asked as Charlotte nodded along.

"8:00," Flitwick stated.

The two brunettes glanced at each other and bobbed their heads once.

"Fair enough," Charlotte murmured.

"Yes," Hermione added.

Flitwick shifted his eyes from one girl to the other and then back. The inside of the back of his head was itching. "Right then. Off you go," he smiled. The two beamed at him before turning and leaving his office, chatting animately. The Professor watched them go, paying special attention to the rather urgent nagging at the back of his head. After a long moment, he finally shook his head. "Nah." But as he turned back to the marking, he wondered if he should tell anyone about the twenty-two year age difference between Charlotte's parents.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Charlotte was now standing in a girl's washroom, wearing denim blue jeans and an emerald green short-sleeved button up shirt, which was half undone to reveal a black tanktop beneath it. Her mother's necklace was tucked underneath. She was trying to comb out the tangles in her long, brown hair, waiting for Hermione to finish changing and come out of a stall. After leaving Flitwick's office, they'd gone up to Gryffindor Tower where Hermione had picked up an outfit for Charlotte and herself. The task was easy - they were both the same height and size.

Hermione stepped out in jeans that were a darker blue than Charlotte's and a thin, figure hugging babyblue turtleneck sweater. Two jackets - one her brown faux-suede and another, also hers, a black sweater-jacket - were hanging in mid air. She was about to reach for the brown one when she noticed Charlotte struggling with her hair. "Need some help?"

Charlotte, with some effort, pulled the comb out of her hair and winced. "I should cut it," she stated, shaking her head a bit. Her locks fell a little more than half-way down her back. She sighed in frustration and shifted her eyes to look at Hermione's reflection in the mirror as the older girl came up behind her. "I like your hair," she said, truthfully.

"It's longer than yours," Hermione pointed out, tilting her head a bit to let a few copper curls fall infront of her shoulder. They reached her waist. "May I?" she asked, gesturing at Charlotte's hair. "I've had practice. Trust me."

Charlotte hesitated for a second, then nodded, a little warily. "Be gentle," she pleaded, rather childishly.

Hermione gave her an exasperated look in the mirror before conjuring a stool and gesturing for Charlotte to sit down. When she did, Hermione took a few locks from the front of her hair and started to gently run the comb through it, stopping to make fast, but gentle strokes near tangles.

"Where did you learn this?" Charlotte asked, starting to relax.

"My hair," Hermione answered, bluntly.

Charlotte looked at Hermione's tresses out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't place whether her locks were curly or wavy - they were curly here and wavy there. A few places, there were even a few soft ringlets. She suddenly thought it was beautiful. She blinked as the thought registered - her own hair certainly was _boring_. "I hate straight hair."

"I think I'd like straight hair. Mine has been a disaster area all my life - frizzy, mostly. You ask me where I learned this? Every woman with curls figures out how to handle a brush at one point or another, or you end up pulling half your hair straight out of your head."

"It's not frizzy," Charlotte pointed out.

"Because my friend got me in a two in one shampoo with conditioner." She paused. "Maybe I should listen to Lavender and straighten mine."

"Don't," Charlotte murmured, quietly. "It's pretty."

Hermione smiled softly, her stomach fluttering a bit at the compliment. She paid it no mind, as she was so absorbed with her work. A comfortable silence settled over them for a few minutes. The comb running through her hair was lulling Charlotte into relaxation and she became lost in her thoughts.

About five minutes of silence was broken by Charlotte's soft murmur of "I'm scared." She almost started a bit when she realized that she'd said it out loud, but didn't think too much of it - she'd just say it was the fear of the new school.

Hermione stopped for a second and raised her eyebrows a bit, wondering where this had come from. "Of what?" she asked, starting to work on her hair again.

"Being here," Charlotte answered, truthfully.

Hermione waited for a few seconds to let her go on, but she didn't. "Why does it scare you?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I just think I want to go home." Her chest was starting to tighten. Without thinking about it, she added, "I don't know if I can though. That's what's scaring me." Logic screamed that she shouldn't be saying this to a girl she'd just met this afternoon, but she inwardly felt completely calm about voicing these fears to Hermione. What she was trying to think of was an explanation she'd give to the older girl if questioned why she couldn't return.

Hermione didn't ask her that, however. She could tell by the way her answers were short and elusive that she wasn't ready to completely open up and didn't want to press the younger girl. What was obvious, however, was that Charlotte needed comfort - she was at a new school, completely distanced and isolated from her friends and family. She'd felt the same way when she'd shown up at Hogwarts seven years ago. She wasn't sure that she was the one who should be giving the comfort, though - she could say the wrong thing and make the situation worse. Luna or Ginny were much better suited for this... But Charlotte hadn't opened up to either of them. She didn't know how to reply, and finally just decided to repeat what her mother had said to her about dealing with hard changes.

Working with the final lock that needed brushing, Hermione took a deep breath. "I understand it must be hard," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, trying to remember what Jane Helen Granger had said to her. "Change is never easy, especially the ones you don't look forward to. I guess, if you can, you can always try to make things go back to the way they were." She glanced at the mirror to see that Charlotte was watching her brush the lock of hair she was holding, but she had a feeling that the younger girl was listening. "But you have to accept that you just can't sometimes."

"What then?"

"I suppose you just try to accept it. You say you're scared, and the only way to deal with fear is to face it. Accept the change and live your life." Done with the lock, Hermione gently ran her fingers through it once before letting the strands fall against Charlotte's shoulder before turning to look at the younger girl in the mirror. Charlotte looked a little dazed, and certainly not too happy. "Hey," she added in a louder, more chipper voice, gently dropping both hands on Charlotte's shoulders. Charlotte started a little and looked up at her. Hermione smiled encouragingly at her. "That's like Plan Z. Fight for it - if you want to go back, do whatever you can to make it happen." She shrugged. "I have a feeling you'll do it."

Charlotte grinned as well. "Why?" she asked, laughing a little.

Hermione brushed a few stray bangs in line with the others before grinning widely. "You stumped Professor Snape," she pointed out, laughing. "If you can do that, you can do anything." In a more serious and promising tone, she added, "I'll be here to help."

Charlotte ran a hand through her hair before standing up and turning to face her. "Thank you."

It would have seemed as if she was talking about the hair, but both girls knew that the thank you was for much more. They shared a smile before Hermione turned around to grab her coat. "We'd better get going. You can borrow my sweater jacket."

"Oh, it's alright, it's not that cold outside. Spring started."

Hermione looked at her in disbelief. "Spring just started. It'll still get cold late in the day. Wear the jacket." She took it out of the air and tossed it to Charlotte, who looked at her incredulously.

"It won't!" Charlotte insisted.

Hermione had already slipped on her coat and was frowning, hands on her hips. "Charlotte Spena," she said, her voice set in what her friends called the McGonagall No-Nonsense Tone. "I promised Professor Flitwick that I'd have you back in good health. Now either put the coat on or we can just stay."

"You wouldn't," Charlotte said. "You and I both know I need supplies."

"I can always go and get them for you," Hermione offered, obviously sarcastic. "I'm sure I know you well enough. Your favourite colour is hot pink, right? For your notes parchments?"

Charlotte blinked once in horror, before sighing in exasperation and defeat. "Fine, _Mother_," she grumbled as she slipped the jacket on.

End of Chapter 2

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A/N

I hope that met everyone's expectations - I worked really hard on it.

A few note - Babel fish are from A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I hope I explained everything well enough so that there was no confusion. (shrugs)

So... Please review!


	4. Charlotte's Boggart

Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, you know the drill…

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Author's Note:

Thank you all!! I can't believe this fic is getting so many reviews... Well, it is one of my better fics (smirks), but still... :D Did I mention I love you all??

Enjoy ch. 3!

luv

The Creatress

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Charlotte's Trip

Chapter 3 – Charlotte's Boggart

She was mad for doing this - absolutely mad! Maybe she was mad; nobody else in this situation would be this calm. 'How could I have been so stupid?!' rang out over and over in her mind, as it had done so for the last few hours... She'd actually grown to ignore it... She lifted her wand to the door and tapped it softly, whispering words to bring down the securities guarding the room. Had anyone ever attempted this before? she wondered vaguely. The wards didn't come down. Another tap, different words.

If she got caught... 'If I am to die before I wake...'

They weren't coming down. Third time's a charm. Another tap and some more words. She'd come too far to get caught now...

"Charlotte!" a voice called from a distance.

Panic coursed through her and she stepped away from the door.

"Charlotte!" the voice called again, closer. Maybe she should run?

"Charlotte? Charlotte!"

Charlotte groaned against the nudging at her shoulder, but didn't open her eyes. "Shut it, Elizabeth..." she managed, turning over. "Too early..." she grumbled.

"What?" There was a pause. And then, "Charlotte, we're going to be late!"

"Dammit, House - !" Charlotte was about to protest in irritation when her sleep-clouded mind wrapped around the fact that the voice urging her to get out of bed was British, not American like Elizabeth's. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up to see a frowning Luna hovering over her, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, a few inches from Charlotte's face.

"Are you alright?" Luna asked, her frown deepening.

Charlotte slowly sat up in bed as the past day's events rushed back to her. She'd timetraveled... Glancing around curiously, what she suddenly missed the most was Elizabeth's dragging her out of bed. "Yes," she mumbled in reference to Luna's question. "Just a little dazed..."

Luna nodded, understandingly. "Did you want to stay in bed today?" she asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "What time is it?"

"Twenty minutes until DADA," Luna reported. "Better hur - " Eyes having widened, Charlotte had already dashed to the washroom. Luna smiled to herself, shaking her head.

After a proverbial whirlwind went through their dormroom, Luna and Charlotte emerged, running for the DADA classroom. They were a few minutes late, but it was obvious that no one was going to notice. The DADA room was full of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, all chattering nervously as they watched Lupin fight a tumbling wardrobe at the front of the room.

Charlotte followed Luna as she went to a redhead, who was watching the display with the corner of her lip twitching slightly. "What's happening?" the blonde inquired. Ginny turned to them, about to answer, but stopped when she saw Charlotte. Luna noticed, and made the introduction. "Charlotte Spena, Ginevra Weasley. Ginevra Weasley, Charlotte Spena." Almost as a second thought, she added, "We call her Ginny." The two girls shook hands, smiling politely at each other and Luna asked Ginny what was happening again.

"He had a boggart for the third years yesterday, but now he can't get it to calm down," Ginny said, nodding toward the front of the class. "He says it's new and rather fiesty."

Lupin let out a growl of frustration then, and in one quick movement, stepped back and cast a charm at the wardrobe. The wardrobe itself stopped moving, but strong thumps can be heard inside it. The professor wiped at his brow, tiredly before speaking, his back to the class. "This one was caught quite recently," he said. "Not that they can ever be tamed, but this... It's more aggressive than most. Needless to say, I'm having a bit of trouble wearing it down for it quiet down." There was a pause before he turned toward them, a challenging spark in his eyes as he smiled encouragingly. "Well, then? Who'd like to help?"

The class scrambled to get themselves into a line before the wardrobe and one student asked, "Shouldn't a teacher be doing this?"

Lupin smiled. "Possibly, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for help." A few of the students laughed at this. "All you need to do is face it, cast the riddikulus, and move out of the way for the next person. A rapid succession should be enough to calm it down."

Charlotte warily got in line behind Ginny, not looking forward to doing the task. Facing one's fear is always a party... Especially for her, this task was harder than it was for most... Her muscles were tensing a little, and she forced herself to relax, telling herself that she'd completed this task once before. Trying to get her mind off what was to come, she peered around Ginny at Luna, wondering what her biggest fear would be.

"What are you afraid of?"

Charlotte turned to Ginny in surprise. She smiled wryly at the redhead's calm, casually questioning expression. "It's a surprise," she answered.

"Oh?" Ginny asked.

It was then that Charlotte noticed that the redhead had grown rigid, arms crossed across her chest, shoulders back and tensed. Obviously, she wasn't looking forward to it either. Charlotte sighed a little. "You'll see," she muttered. She ignored Ginny's raised eyebrows and asked her, "Yours?"

Ginny gave her a small smile. "It's a surprise." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "You probably won't see." Seeing the questioning look on Charlotte's face then, she explained, "I don't like to keep... it... around long. You know?"

Charlotte nodded, understandingly. So she wasn't the only one who thought that it was hardest for herself... She frowned. But still...

"Are you ready, Luna?" Ginny asked.

Charlotte looked ahead to notice that Luna would be up next after whatever the Ravenclaw ahead of her did with the banshee. A cry of "riddikulus" and Charlotte almost laughed out loud, momentarily forgetting what's coming, as the banshee turned into Britney Spears. The girl rushed off to the side, smiling to herself and Luna stepped up.

Britney Spears turned into a huge, black hairy ape with blue-black wings that seemed to take up the classroom. It bared its massive teeth and raised a clawed hand, threateningly. "Riddikulus," Luna whispered and the ape warped into a cute, small, creamy yellow cat-rabbit hybrid - a gelrie. Smiling slightly to herself, Luna rushed off to the side.

Ginny stepped up and the gelrie was hardly gone before she cast the riddikulus. When Ginny walked steadily to the side, smirking rather twistedly, Charlotte stared after her for a second. Charlotte had raised an eyebrow at what the boggart had turned into, and her eyes narrowed trying to decipher the connection between her fear and what had been left after the countercurse. It was only there for a moment before it turned into a rather large mongoose, but Charlotte could have sworn that Ginny's biggest fear was a boy.

Charlotte's attention was drawn back to the front of the classroom as Ginny's mongoose darkened and began to change its form to fit the brunette's biggest fear. Her stomach starting to clench and her heart fluttering nervously, she watched as the form grew into something tall and slender... She was starting to feel sick... The boggart ended its transformation and Charlotte could hear a few whispers behind her as they tried to figure out what in the world it was. Charlotte couldn't tell them - she didn't know herself.

At the front of the room, stood something that was mostly black. It was an odd shape, but more triangular than anything, the base wider than the top, which ended with a point. It was rather tall, the top reaching maybe two feet over Lupin, who looked from the boggart to Charlotte and back, an unreadable expression on his face. About two and half feet from the top, there was a squarish oval on the thing, about half as big as an average classroom clock, death white in colour except for a few spots of it which were red. What was even more strange was that the whole thing was hazy...

Two agonizingly slow seconds went by before Charlotte remembered herself. Swallowing down the bile that was rising in her throat, she raised her wand, which was shaking in her trembling hand, and cast the counter curse. The black parts instantly turned a dark pink and the white part a lighter shade of the same colour. Deeming her work done, Charlotte turned away and started walking to where Ginny and Luna were before she felt a dizziness hit her again. Feeling nauseous, she quickly exitted the room, hoping Lupin would forgive her for not getting a pass first - she simply would not be sick in front of the whole class.

Charlotte burst into the washroom and made it to a stall before throwing up the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The taste of vomit sent another wave of nausea through her and she threw up again, vaguely aware of the sound of quick footsteps behind her.

"Charlotte?" Luna's concerned voice came.

Charlotte didn't reply, trying hard not to vomit again and failing miserably. Suddenly her hair was pulled back away from the side of her face and her neck and she knew that Luna was right behind her. She opened her mouth to thank the girl, but ended up gagging and throwing up again. When she was done and still for a few moments, Luna conjured a paper cup of water and handed it to her friend. Charlotte rinsed her mouth and spit into the toilet before getting up on shaky legs and flushing.

"Thanks," Charlotte managed, as she passed Luna. She went to the sink and rinsed her mouth even more thoroughly, wishing she had her toothbrush.

"Charlotte..." Luna began, but thought better of it. Instead, she sighed.

Charlotte frowned. "Gods, this is so embarassing."

"Don't be," Luna said. "Everyone's afraid of something." She paused before continuing. "I thought of Zentraws. My father wants to go looking for one in a few days, and I'm really scared for him." Charlotte didn't reply and Luna looked at her. "Ready to go?" The brunette nodded and they left the washroom.

They got back and a few curious looks were darted her way, but it was mostly because she was new. Others had reacted worse to their fears, in some cases, not being able to cast the countercurse at all. When the last student was done with the boggart, Lupin stepped up in front of it, turning the moon into a puff of smoke before sending the boggart reeling into the wardrobe and locking the doors shut. There were a few thumps... And then silence. The class cheered as the wardrobe stayed still and Lupin turned to them with a smile. "Good job, everyone."

After they were all seated, Lupin nodded toward Charlotte. "This is Charlotte Spena," he introduced. "A transfer from the Donna School in Canada." Charlotte smiled politely at everyone from her seat and got many grins and smiles in return. "It's always been said that the British people are far more aloof and unfriendly than the people of Canada," Lupin continued. "It goes for boggarts, as well." A few people laughed lightly at this while most gave him indignant looks. Charlotte smiled a thanks at him, knowing full well that the rather unfunny and not well-thoughtout comment was just to get people off wondering why she'd reacted so badly. Let them think that any boggart she'd dealt with before were just nicer and that she just couldn't handle a really mean British one.

The class went on with, the only disruption occurring when Lupin left the room and two Gryffindors got into a fight. It ended quickly when Lupin came back and the rest of the class went by without event and was over quickly. Charlotte was packing up quickly, determined to leave before -

"Charlotte, a word, please?"

Charlotte visibly deflated before nodding at Lupin and continuing her packing, though at a slower pace. She waved goodbye to Ginny and Luna and stepped up to the desk after the last student left, closing the door behind him.

"Now, now, Charlotte, don't look as if the Appocalipse has come." A cushioned chair appeared beside her. "Take a seat."

"I'll be late for Potions."

Lupin bit the inside of the cheek to keep from smirking. "I'll give you a note."

Charlotte sat down and looked up at him, a timid look in her eyes, one that Lupin suddenly found himself failing to place on Snape. "I ran out without a pass. I'm sorry," she said, softly before turning away again.

Lupin sighed and almost smiled to himself, though he thought he'd felt a sudden deja vu at her appology. He shrugged the feeling off. "That's quite alright, Charlotte," Lupin answered, sitting down on the other side of the desk. "I called you here to discuss what happened with your boggart."

Charlotte nodded, not looking up at him. "I know, sir," she said.

Lupin regarded her, thoughtfully. "I know this is a touchy subject," he said. "If you want, you can call me... Uncle Remus again." He shifted uncomfortably as she looked at him, surprised. "If you want." He paused and looked at her to see the corner of her lips twitching a bit and he relaxed. Lupin smiled, but then it turned a little sad as he looked at her. "Charlotte, have we... Spoken about your boggart?"

Charlotte shook her head. "You've never... Will never..." She frowned. "No. You won't be teaching when I go to school." She glanced at him. "You'll be at a ministry job."

Lupin's smile quirked the tiniest bit at this, but he was too focussed on the subject at hand. "You don't know what it was, do you?"

Charlotte looked up at him, surprised. "How... How did you...?"

"It was hazy. And unfamiliar, even to you. Even as you stood there, scared out of your wits, you were trying to figure out what it was."

Charlotte studied him. "Do you know what it was?"

Lupin didn't respond for a second. "I... might have an idea."

"What is it?"

"I can't tell you, Charlotte. It may influence you when you try to figure out what it was."

Charlotte stared at him. "Boggarts are supposed to transform into whatever frightens us. How can I be scared of something I don't know?"

Lupin tapped at a quill, almost nervously before responding. "When was the first time you saw it?" he asked.

Charlotte wanted to demand that he answer her question, but instead calmly responded to his. "When I was really little... Maybe five or six years old, I used to have nightmares about it."

"How did they go?" Lupin asked, softly.

Charlotte sat silently for a few seconds, dreading the tale. She finally took a deep breath and started, trying to keep her composure. "Sometimes, it just stood there... It was far away then and it just stood there," Charlotte said. Her hands were twisting in her laps. Her voice was growing breathy and her black eyes were locked on the empty board behind Lupin. "It was still scary though," she added. Lupin nodded, but he was pretty sure that she didn't even notice. "The worst ones were, when I was right in front of it. I mean, right in front of it. At its feet." Her voice had grown shaky and she took a deep breath. "I tried moving away, but I couldn't. Something was stopping me. And then..." Her voice broke and Lupin was about to offer her a tissue, but she continued. "That white thing..." Her voice trailed off.

"What about it, Charlotte?" Lupin asked, gently.

"It comes off it or something," she whispered, tears leaking out of her eyes. "It was the worst part. It lands on right on me... On my face." She brushed her forehead with a hand, almost as if she could feel it on her. "There was blood everywhere..."

Lupin stiffened and his eyes grew a little wide. "What?" he whispered.

Charlotte seemed not to have heard. "Then I wake up," she ended. She finally turned to him, black eyes looking glossy. "I always started screaming for my mother and then I cried until I went back to sleep."

Lupin nodded, slowly. "What did you mean when you said there was blood everywhere?"

"It was everywhere... On my face, in my hair... All over my clothes..." She looked almost earnestly at him. "It was on it today... That red stuff on the white part. That was blood." She wiped her tears away and looked thoughtfully at him. "It's a figment of my imagination, right? Just some nightmare I can't get rid of? It comes just a few times a year nowadays…"

Lupin sighed and smiled sadly. "One must never brush off nightmares," he said to his desk. He looked up at her. "Do you think it was a mere figment of your imagination?"

Charlotte thought for a second before shaking her head.

"Why not?"

A second of silence passed by before Charlotte responded. "Because my mother was crying, too," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry?" Lupin asked.

"She was crying, too. My mother always held me after I had those dreams. Always. But she was crying, too. I always wondered why..." Her voice trailed off. She looked back at Lupin to find him staring at her with an unreadable expression. "Uncle Remus?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"You never answered my question. How can I be afraid of something I don't know of?"

Lupin sat up a little straighter in his chair and nervously drummed his fingers against the edge of his desk before responding, looking her in the eyes as he did so. "Try your best to keep calm, Charlotte… It seems to be a repressed memory." Charlotte didn't say or do anything, but Lupin noticed that her hands had stopped twisting as she stared at him, an unreadable look in her eyes, waiting for him to continue. "That's why you didn't know what it was, but the boggart picked enough up from your subconscious to form something. That's why it was hazy..." He trailed off and looked at her with a worried frown. "Are you alright, Charlotte?"

Charlotte didn't answer. "What does my dream mean, then?" her voice had the lining of panic in it. Her heart was thudding loudly against her chest.

Lupin had a pleading look in his eyes. "Charlotte," he said, gently. "Don't stress -"

"What does it mean?!" Charlotte demanded. Her knuckles were growing white; she was gripping them so hard. She shook her head. "It couldn't have actually _happened_."

"It may not have happened the exact way you dreamt about it," Lupin said, quickly. "Our minds have a way of playing with the events of reality. Suppose something had happened, you dreamt a corrupted version of the occurrence for a while, and then your mind just repressed it because it was too much to handle."

Charlotte was the one with the pleading eyes now. Once again, Lupin thought, could not even be placed near Snape, let alone on him. It was amazing how much different a mere expression could make ones eyes look. "Tell me what it was," she said.

Lupin looked sorry. "I can't, Charlotte. You have to figure it out." He turned away. "If you need help, Professor Snape is a legilimens - we've seen him get through the most trying obstacles - "

"No."

Lupin wasn't surprised. "Then I'm afraid you're on your own, Charlotte," he said, defeated. "I don't know anyone else."

"It doesn't matter," Charlotte said, crossing her arms across her chest. Lupin raised his eyebrows, surprised, and Charlotte looked at him, evenly. "It was a long time ago. It doesn't come up unless a boggart is around, so why should I bother? It's obviously repressed and staying that way for a reason."

Lupin smiled, softly and just a little sadly. "It really is your choice, Charlotte." He quickly scrawled a note to Snape and handed it to Charlotte, who took it, thanked him and got up. She was about to leave when he called her.

"Yes?" Charlotte asked, turning around hesitantly.

"Charlotte, if you need anything," Lupin started. "You know where to find me." He gave her another soft smile.

Charlotte faced him. "I'm sorry if you're disappointed - "

"No, Charlotte, I'm not," Lupin said, laughing lightly. "It's all up to you."

She smiled, widely and thanked him before leaving. Fifteen minutes were gone so she hurried along, trying not to spare any more time. As she jogged down the hallways, she skidded on an uneven stone in the ground and banged her watch and her wrist against the wall as she stumbled into it. Cursing softly under her breath, she ignored the throbbing under her watch as she went on - being late to a NEWT level class was never a good thing.

Once again, Charlotte ran into class to find that she needn't have worried. Snape wasn't in class when she arrived. Luna simply gestured for her to take the seat next to her, and once Charlotte did, told her that they were to silently read chapter sixteen to themselves. Actually glad for not having to deal with Snape, Charlotte flipped her text book open and started reading, absent-mindedly slipping a few fingers of her right hand under the watch on her left to massage the part she'd hit the wall with.

Charlotte frowned in boredom as she read on… She knew this stuff. Her father had hammered potions and defense against the dark arts knowledge into her, starting at a young age. Her mother often remarked that she was the only child her father seemed to be willing to teach. Frown deepening as this thought registered, Charlotte let her eyes glide away from the book and over the room.

It seemed that the room was one of the few things that remained the same. The people, most of them anyways, made no sense. Only Luna seemed to fit with the stories her mother used to tell her. Where in the hell were her parents? Or, more specifically, her father.

It was understandable that she couldn't find her mother – firstly, she hadn't exactly put a huge amount of effort into searching (mostly because she decided it would be weird). Secondly, her mother was one out of the sea of seventh years. She didn't interact with them on a daily basis so she wouldn't even know where to start. What could she do? Go up to a seventh year and randomly ask, "Say, you wouldn't know a Mia Spena, would you?" It didn't occur to Charlotte that she'd probably have to use her maiden name.

Her father, on the other hand… There weren't many teachers on staff. How many were there? Eight? Nine?

Charlotte turned back to the book with a soft sigh. Maybe she was stressing for nothing… Her father left shortly after her mother. Maybe her mother had already graduated and her father had left. Maybe she and the Sorting Hat had been wrong in its calculations. A small part of her mind snorted at this – the Sorting Hat may be a compilation of ancient felt, but it didn't make mistakes. Charlotte outwardly snorted a little at this thought, and then shook her head at Luna's questioning expression before going back to massaging her wrist and reading the text. This would be a long day…

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Dumbledore entered the staff room through the floo and responded to Lupin's nod of acknowledgement with a soft, almost sad smile. He then turned to Snape, who was sitting at the table, marking essays. The Potions Master didn't even look up as the older wizard entered. He merely scowled a little blacker and mused, "You'd think a headmaster who'd pull his teachers out of class in a hurry would arrive to the meeting on time."

Dumbledore didn't respond, but smiled wanly. Snape would not like this. "Has she gone to class now?" he asked Lupin.

"I just sent her off," Lupin replied.

Snape didn't bother asking who they were talking about. If it was of any importance, they'd tell him themselves.

"Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice gentle, but firm. Snape looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "Something's happened that we think you should know about." He glanced at Lupin. "Perhaps Remus should tell you. He was there." He nodded at the DADA Professor.

Snape turned to Lupin, who sat down across from him at the table. "Severus, I just had a boggart in my sixth year class last period." He paused for a second to see if the Potions Master would question why there had been third year material in a sixth year class, but he didn't so Lupin continued. "I had the students line up and do the riddikulus spells… But something happened."

An irritated look passed across Snape's face then, and Dumbledore suddenly thought of the look Charlotte gave him when he'd told she'd traveled through time. _'Obviously,'_ the look seemed to state, scathingly. Despite the circumstances, the headmaster allowed himself a small smile.

"It was Charlotte's turn-" Lupin was interrupted by a wave of the hand by the irritated Potions Professor.

"Would I be here if this was anybody else's child?" he asked, rhetorically.

"Yes," Dumbledore and Lupin replied, readily, both frowning.

Snape glanced from one to the other, feeling that something was off. He leaned back in his chair and nodded at Lupin, indicating for him to continue.

"Charlotte's boggart has revealed that she has a repressed memory," Lupin said.

"So? Many have repressed memories," Snape replied, easily.

Lupin looked him in the eye, feeling a small pang of anger burning at the pit of his stomach at Snape's inertia. "This isn't a usual one. Whatever happened was traumatic enough to make her physically ill after the encounter. She had to leave the classroom to be sick and was shaking and pale when she returned." He paused and glowered at little, almost daring the man before him to make a comment. When Snape stayed silent, he went on. "Later, I asked her – after getting Albus' permission, of course – what it was all about. She was a mess when she tried telling me. This thing seems to come to haunt her any time she sleeps under stress or pain."

"This isn't any of my work, Severus," Dumbledore put in. "When it's not weakened by tension, her mind is so intent on keeping it buried, even I missed it." He looked at the younger man, warily. "You know what happens something so horrific stays repressed so long. Best case scenario, it can drive a person to madness, if not suicide."

Snape looked at him. "You want me to help her resurface it," he stated. His colleagues nodded. He sighed, tiredly. "How long has this been going on?" he asked, sounding rather like someone asking the cashier how much the total comes to.

"The incident seems to have happened when she was four or five," Lupin stated. "That's when the nightmares first appeared."

Snape stared down at the essay he'd been marking. Red, angry scrawls littered the neat, precise black writing on the cream parchment. "In my opinion, we should just let her be and concentrate on sending her back to the future. Let them deal with it there." He looked up to see both men looking at him incredulously. "She isn't even supposed to be here in the first place. This may seem like a good idea, but we'd merely be fanning the flames by messing around with time."

"Severus," Lupin said, voice even. "Eleven years. Minimum. That's how long she's had it."

"And we don't know when you'll find a way to send her back, Severus," Albus added. He paused. "I realize this increases your work load. How about you focus your attention on Charlotte's problems – sending her back and helping her mind – and we'll find someone else to brew Poppy's potions and maybe help with your marking for the younger students?"

"The help would be appreciated," Snape conceded. "However, I believe I'm not the one who should be helping Charlotte face her fears."

"I actually agree. The school is just swarming with other Legilimens – let's just ask one of them," Lupin said, sarcastically.

Snape raised an eyebrow and smirked nastily. "You seem high-strung, Remus. That time of the month?"

Lupin ignored the jab, knowing that the Potions Master hadn't been asleep when he'd delivered the Wolfsbane Potion to him two nights ago. If he hadn't improved it so that he only turned into a monster during the night, Lupin was sure he'd be strangling Snape with his bare hands at the moment. "Severus," he said, instead. "You keep saying you're not the one to handle it. But did you ever stop to think, that if you don't do it now, you'll have to do it in the future?"

"You were never one to procrastinate," Dumbledore remarked.

Snape ignored the headmaster and fixed Lupin with an even gaze. "What makes you think this girl will even exist in the future? Perhaps her sole purpose in life was to come back in time and serve as warning to me – be extra careful when with women." He shook his head. "Now that I know, I won't make the mistake."

Lupin and Dumbledore stared at him, their expressions mixtures of horror and confusion. "Severus," Dumbledore said, disbelief lining his words. "Did you just call your little girl a mistake?"

Snape said nothing.

Lupin was shaking his head, scowling ferociously. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Besides, Severus, there are some things in life that you can't control. I believe Charlotte is one of them. She is destined to exist."

Snape only gave him a look one would give an annoying child. "People only develop destinies _after_ they exist. No one has a mere purpose of _just_ existing." He shook his head. "No. She won't."

Lupin narrowed his eyes. "If she wasn't fated to exist, she would never have been born, and she would never be here now."

"Fate," Severus stated. "A lot of hogwash. I was under the impression that our destinies were made out by the choices we made." He turned his black eyes onto Dumbledore, daring him to refute the statement. When the headmaster quietly conceded, he turned back to Lupin. "So, I'll _choose_ not to have a child."

"You can't choose everything in life, Severus," Lupin countered. "Things happen. Things that you can't control – however likely or unlikely they are. For example, we pulled you out of class, now the period's almost over. More work for tomorrow. It would have been better for you to have stayed, but there is nothing you can do about it."

"If I had not enjoyed _not_ going to teach a bunch of dunderheads, I would have found a way to end this meeting a long time ago. I can not help it if that is how you feel, Remus. _I_ try to stay in control of _my_ life," Snape said, quietly. "Anything and everything. Things happen, yes, but if I don't like them, _things_ have a tendency of changing."

"Oh, please, there will always be people and things that won't bend to suit your needs."

"Bet on it," Snape replied, curtly, turning back to the essay before him.

Remus eyed it. _Hermione Granger_ was written neatly at the top corner. She'd be the smartest person to ever pass through these hallowed halls, and yet her paper was so _red_. "I'll bet you five hundred galleons you couldn't get Hermione to fall in love with you." He didn't know where the words came from, but he didn't quite care. He met Snape's gaze evenly as the Potions looked up at him.

"_Why_ would I want to do that?" Snape asked, sounding almost amused.

"To prove your point," Remus replied, easily. "Or you can live the rest of your life licking your wounds after losing a debate. To _me_."

Snape's eyes were contemplative and serious, but before he could reply, Dumbledore cut in. "Gentlemen, honestly," he said, his voice stern. He shot a warning look at Lupin, a little affronted that the man, who was usually so noble and righteous, would ever suggest something so crude. Lupin only gave him a wide-eyed looked that silently exclaimed "He's not going to do it!" He turned to Snape, knowing Lupin was right. "Severus. You will help Charlotte with her memory problem."

xXxXxXxXx

"Ow!" Charlotte hissed as her wrist burned. A few drops of red ran down the silver of the watch and Charlotte tried taking it off. As soon as she unfastened and pulled at it, there was a slight tug against her hand and both she and Luna heard the faintest snap as another shot of pain shot through her hand. "Holy fuck…" she swore, staring at her wrist. There was something silver piece stabbed into her skin – obviously, that was what had cut her and that was what had snapped off a second ago.

"Let's get you to the hospital wing… Why is your hand so red?" Luna asked.

"It's blood," Charlotte grumbled, following Luna.

"No, I mean the skin around your wrist. It's swollen."

"Oh. I bumped that earlier." 'Maybe that's what sent the watch piece into my skin," Charlotte mused. She looked at the clock, wondering if it had stopped. Nope… Still running. Shrugging, she slipped it into her pocket and tried to stop her blood from spilling everywhere.

"Here," Luna suddenly said. She tapped Charlotte's wrist with her wand and a white bandage appeared around it, which, though wrapped a little shrewdly, stopped the bleeding.

"Thank you," Charlotte mumbled, feeling a little dampened that she hadn't thought of that herself. "This day has been the worst ever…"

"It hasn't been completely bad," Luna remarked. "We missed Professor Snape in Potions, didn't we?"

Charlotte nodded. "I hate potions," she said, smiling wanly.

"Why?" Charlotte and Luna turned to see Hermione and Ginny come up behind them. The Gryffindor brunette glanced at Charlotte's wrist. "What happened?" she asked, looking curious.

"A piece of my watch is stuck in my skin," Charlotte said. She groaned as they neared the hospital wing. "I _just_ got out of here."

Luna turned to Hermione and Ginny. "Why are you here?"

"I've been volunteering. Figured I'd like to see what being a mediwitch is about before I start training next year," Hermione explained.

"I'm just following Mione," Ginny said. "Rosmilda and her friends are driving me insane."

"I haven't seen her pull metal out of a person before – this should be fascinating. What's your watch made of?" Hermione asked.

Charlotte scowled at her. "Silver, I think," she answered, nevertheless.

Hermione smiled, apologetically. "Sorry, Charlotte," she said. Charlotte nodded a little and returned her smile and the three continued in silence for a while. "So why do you not like potions?"

"It's not that I don't like it," Charlotte mumbled. "I hate it." She saw Hermione, Luna and Ginny glance at each other before turning to look at her curiously. "I don't know," Charlotte said, exasperated. "I understand the material and everything – my parents taught me that stuff. But I just have this really annoying habit of picking up the wrong ingredients to add. So of course I screw up the actual potion." She shook her head.

"I've never understood that," Ginny said. "How do you pick up the wrong ingredient?"

"Well, ingredients that look alike," Charlotte amended. "It's not like you have time to double check. Stir this and immediately add that or else. You get really nervous and scared – not everybody can work under such pressure." She scowled, slightly. "And then there are _outside_ distractions," she grumbled.

All three girls looked at her. "Like?" Ginny asked.

Charlotte didn't answer for a second. Then she quickly muttered something that sounded like, "Bloody Slytherins." Her cheeks were tinted pink and all three girls swooped down on this.

"Excuse me?" the three around her asked.

"It's nothing!" Charlotte exclaimed, eyes firmly on the floor.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Ginny stated, smirking.

Charlotte conceded and sighed a little. What was the harm…? "There's this boy in my class. His name's Tom. He's so…"

"Distracting?" Hermione supplied, smiling.

Charlotte nodded. "Distracting." Her cheeks lost their touch of pink and she frowned. "At home," she started. "My father tutored me. He has this amazing ability to make you blank out and screw up just by being the same room."

"At school," Ginny put in, seriously. "Snape teaches us. He and your father can get together and start a club."

xXxXxXxXxXx

A/N

WOOT! Nineteen pages… I didn't want to stop with this chapter, LOL!

Okay, people – Who thinks they know what Charlotte's biggest fear is? Come on, guess!


	5. A Witch, A Watch, A Necklace

Disclaimer – I own nothing of the HP books or whatever associated, blada blada blada, you know the drill…

xXxXxXxXxXx

Author's Note:

A huge thank you to everybody who reviewed!! I love you, I love you!! Great guesses on Charlotte's boggart, but my favourite was Samiseriouslyam's, LOL!

More will be revealed this chapter… Things get more… _interesting_.

Ciao…

Creatress

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Charlotte's Trip

Chapter 5 – The Witch, the Watch and a Necklace

"Back so soon?" Madam Pomphrey asked when she saw her.

"There's metal in my wrist. Take it out," Charlotte said, rather bluntly. She paused, and then, just as dryly, added, "Please."

Pomphrey looked at the three behind Charlotte. "Hermione, grab a quill and some parchment. You might want to take notes." Hermione started rummaging through her bookbag and Pomphrey turned to the other two. "What's wrong with you two?"

"I had a feeling that this would be funny," Ginny ventured. Pomphrey scowled at her and she and Luna bolted from the wing.

Pomphrey then showed Charlotte to the bed she'd occupied just yesterday. The nurse started pealing off Luna's bandage as Hermione reappeared, notebook and quill in hand.

"What happened?" Pomphrey asked.

"I hit my wrist against a wall," Charlotte replied. "It didn't bleed at first. I guess I broke the watch when I hit it and the piece just went deep into my skin later when I massaged it."

"I see," Pomphrey muttered. She cast a spell to stop the blood flow and then started cleaning up the blood that had already spilled. "What's the watch made of?"

"I'm not too sure," Charlotte said. "I believe it's silver." She took the watch out of her pocket and gave it Pomphrey.

Pomphrey turned it over in her hand and nodded. "Yes, it's silver." She placed it on the table and turned to Hermione. "Get me the cleansing solution for silver." Hermione nodded and just about jogged away. "You see this?" Pomphrey asked Charlotte. She pointed it at a small shard of silver that was sticking out of the open wound. It was only two or three millimeters long.

"That's what cut me," Charlotte said.

Pomphrey nodded. "We'll have to pull it out. This may hurt," she warned.

Charlotte frowned, and then nodded before looking away.

Pomphrey pointed her wand at the shard and started coaxing it out. The shard started moving, bit by bit, out of Charlotte's wrist. The nurse frowned after a few moments – the shard was longer than she'd anticipated, already a centimeter in length. "It's a big one," she murmured. Charlotte didn't reply and only bit her lower lip. The older woman went back to work on the shard and pulled it out some more. All of a sudden, Charlotte gasped out loud and a tear escaped her eye as she shut them. "What - ?" Pomphrey started to ask, but then got her answer. She'd thought the shard was straight, but it seemed to be curving…

"Gods, it hurts…" Charlotte whimpered.

"It'll be over soon," Pomphrey said, soothingly. She started coaxing the shard out again, this time turning it to follow its curve. It curved and created almost half a circle before it finally ended. "There," Pomphrey concluded, holding the bloody shard in her palm and casting a scourgify on it. She held it out to Charlotte, who took it with her other hand.

"So small," Charlotte commented, softly, taking the shard from the nurse. She turned it over in her hand. It was flat, hook-shaped and almost one and a half centimeters in length. She wondered where it went in the watch.

"Madam Pomphrey?" Hermione had returned. "I only found one bottle. It was empty." She held up the small bottle, almost as evidence. "You're fresh out."

"Oh, dear," Pomphrey said. "I'll have to contact Professor Snape. Stay with Charlotte, will you?"

After Pomphrey bustled off to her fireplace, Hermione sat down beside Charlotte. "How's your wrist?"

"It's fine," Charlotte said. "This was in it." She showed her the hook.

Hermione winced. "That's part of your watch?"

Charlotte nodded, and then frowned. "I didn't feel the need to reparo it after I banged it into the wall. It didn't look broken so I'd figured it was strong and didn't break."

"Well, it was made from silver. Maybe the workmanship was just shoddy."

Charlotte nodded. "I'll repair it later." She nodded toward the bloody watch on the table. "After it's cleaned. Now, I'll just have to put it somewhere…" She glanced around.

"We can reduce a box, if you need it," Hermione said.

Charlotte looked thoughtful for a second, and then shook her head. "No, I think I've got something better." She reached up and untucked her necklace from under her shirt.

Hermione smiled when she saw the silver chain and the sapphire pendant. "I have something exactly like that," she said.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Hermione's response was to pull her own necklace out from under her shirt. She held up the chain, letting the sapphire glitter in the light before putting it back. "I don't usually wear jewelry – this is just for sentimental reasons," she said.

Charlotte smiled, turning the pendant over in her hands. A wave of homesickness passed over her and her smile faded a bit. "Me, too." Charlotte noticed Hermione give her a concerned look then, and she grinned at her friend. "Long story… Goes back two generations."

Hermione shrugged, smiling slightly. "Mine's short – only goes back one. I'll tell you sometime," she joked.

Charlotte grinned and turned to look at the hook, which was in her palm beside her pendant. "Do me a favour, will you, Hermione?" she asked. "I can't do this with one hand."

"Sure."

"Charm the hook to magically hang off the chain?"

Hermione nodded and pulled her wand out of her bookbag. She waved it over the jewelry in Charlotte's palm, murmuring the necessary incantations. As she did, the hook moved closer to the chain. "There," she said, drawing her wand away.

Charlotte dropped the pendant and hook, and both fell against her chest, hanging onto the silver chain. "Thank you," she said, tucking the necklace under her shirt again.

"You're welcome." Hermione returned her wand to her bookbag. "How…" She trailed off when she saw the nurse approaching with both Snape and Dumbledore in tow.

"Thank you, Hermione," Madam Pomphrey said. "Fill out an entry in the record book, please?" Hermione nodded and left, disappearing into the nurse's office. "It's been heaven having that girl around," the older woman said to Dumbledore, who smiled.

The headmaster turned to Charlotte. "Back to the hospital so soon, Miss Spena?" he asked.

Charlotte grinned wryly up at him. "I just love this place so much," she said, brightly.

Dumbledore chuckled and Charlotte smiled a little. "We all do," he joked back, walking to the table and picking up the watch.

Pomphrey dabbed some of the cleanser onto Charlotte's wound, making the young girl whimper in pain. "It wouldn't hurt as much if I'd treated earlier," the nurse said. "But, someone's been slacking on providing the hospital with necessary potions."

Snape scowled blackly at her and Dumbledore, who had cleaned the watch and was admiring it, froze. The old wizard looked warily from his nurse to his potions master and inwardly steeled himself.

"It shouldn't hurt much now," Snape stated, evenly. He glowered at Charlotte. "Stiffen up that upper lip, girl. There's worse in the world than a small cut." Charlotte straightened, even if only to effectively glare at Snape, who threw her a murderous look before turning on Pomphrey. "If you are running out of potions, then stop treating these imbeciles. A few days of suffering the consequences of their actions without mothering from you should cure them of pulling idiotic stunts."

Pomphrey turned to Dumbledore, an incredulous look on her face. "You see? This is why I called you here - !"

Dumbledore shushed her by holding up a hand. "I know. Severus has a lot to do right now, Poppy –" The nurse opened her mouth to protest in indignation and Dumbledore quickly continued. " – But rest assured, we're trying to find a solution to this. In fact," he paused and smiled widely as Hermione returned with the record book. "We may have already found it."

Pomphrey raised an eyebrow and turned to see what Dumbledore was grinning at. "Hermione? How will she help?" she asked, suspiciously.

Hermione caught these last words and her amber eyes shifted confusedly from the nurse and Dumbledore and back again. "I'll need to know the spells you used," she said to the older woman. Then, her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "Help with what?"

"Well, Hermione, we have a bit of a problem on our hands," Dumbledore said. "Don't we, Severus? Poppy?" He walked next to Hermione and put an encouraging arm around her shoulders. "One we believe you may help us solve. Would you be interested in providing assistance to another staff member in need?"

Hermione glanced from Dumbledore to the Potions Master, who was the only other staff member in the room. Snape scowled menacingly at her, and Hermione's eyes widened and she quickly looked away. She caught Charlotte's gaze and the Ravenclaw vehemently shook her head, implying that Hermione should turn down the offer. "Umm… Who?" she dubiously asked Dumbledore.

"Professor Snape has a lot of work right now, and help with brewing potions for the hospital – which would also be beneficial to your training, I might add – and some more assistance with marking would be greatly appreciated," Dumbledore said, lightly.

"Oh! Well," Hermione mumbled. She glanced at Snape, who seemed inert to her response, but there was a slight glint of threat in his black eyes that seemed to promise her pain and misery should she accept. She suddenly noticed Charlotte, chewing on her lower lip, her own black eyes begging – for her to say no? Suddenly, Hermione wondered why Charlotte would care.

"You're one of the few students we can trust to be alone with his labs and work on these things without causing accidents, Hermione," Dumbledore suddenly said. "There aren't many we can leave unsupervised."

Hermione's ears perked. "Excuse me?"

"Well, he won't be around…" Dumbledore's voiced trailed off. "Much," he added, quietly.

"Oh, I didn't know that…" Hermione murmured. She then turned to the Potions Master and eyed him evenly. "If I would not be bothering you with my presence, Professor, then I would be delighted."

Snape eyed her for half a second, and then gave her a curt nod in response.

Charlotte wanted to slap herself on the forehead in defeat and exasperation, but thought better of it. She was quite certain what would take up Snape's time – her. And her damned boggart. If Hermione hadn't decided to help him, he may have had too much work to do by himself to waste any time on her and memory problem.

Dumbledore let Hermione go and clapped in pleasure. "See, that wasn't too hard. Now, I'm sure everything will work out." The door suddenly fell open and a bunch of students tried getting in at once. "Oh, how unfortunate," Dumbledore remarked when he saw that various limbs were merged together, trapping the students in an unbreakable group. Before anyone could reply, Pomphrey and Hermione had already rushed over to help them. Dumbledore suddenly turned to the watch in his hand before looking at Charlotte.. "Yours, Charlotte?" he asked, holding it up.

Charlotte didn't reply right away and eyed it. "I came here with it," she stated, frowning a bit.

Snape raised an eyebrow at her hesitation and Dumbledore turned it over in his hands. "It's very handsome. Ah - " The headmaster adjusted his glasses and squinted. "Made in 1928." He turned back to Charlotte. "Do you remember where you got it?"

Charlotte thought for a second, then shook her head. "No."

"Then, perhaps you acquired it quite recently, and that information was lost along with the last few days you lived before coming here." He examined it closely. "It's Muggle-made and charmed to work inside magical buildings." The headmaster paused. "It's large," he observed and smiled slightly. "Rather masculine, don't you think?" He glanced briefly at Snape with a half-grin.

The Potions Master raised an eyebrow. He realized that this might be important information and that the watch may have something to do with her being sent back into the past, but he didn't like the way the Headmaster was acting. Snape wasn't one to waste time, beating around the bush in times of emergencies. The watch obviously wasn't the girl's – whose was it and what part did it play in sending her back?

Charlotte shrugged and looked at him, intently. "I can still have it back, right?" she asked.

"Why, Miss Spena?" the headmaster asked.

Charlotte fixed her gaze on the watch and felt stomach knot up a bit. "I shouldn't lose it," she said, softly. "I must be careful with it."

"Why?" Snape asked, curiously.

Charlotte didn't turn away from the watch. "I don't know."

"I'll just give it to Professors Snape and Lupin so that they could run some tests on it," Dumbledore said. "They can check if it has any time traveling properties and have it back in a few hours."

Charlotte didn't reply for a second. Then, she slowly nodded.

Dumbledore left the hospital wing, humming softly to himself, throwing watch in the air and catching it again as he walked. He was followed closely by a scowling Potions Master.

"Where are we going?" Snape asked.

"To see Remus. You and he are going to look over this watch for time traveling properties." Dumbledore paused and stopped walking. "I doubt you'd find anything though. This watch doesn't seem to be hiding anything and it doesn't seem dark, either. I just felt that it was important."

"She acquired it in the last few days and that's why she doesn't remember anything about it," Snape stated. "You think the event may be related to her time travel."

Dumbledore nodded. "The watch doesn't belong to her, either. I believe it's borrowed."

"Because it's large and masculine?" Snape asked, frowning. "That's rather assumptive."

"It's assumptive to believe those are my only reasons," Dumbledore retorted, tone light.

Snape looked at him, curiously. "You have another reason?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "Possibly."

"Possibly?"

"Do watch shops put their initials on expensive antiques?" Dumbledore asked.

Snape eyed him. "I doubt it. Why?"

"They personalize them though?"

Snape shrugged. "Perhaps. Why?" he asked again.

"If so - " Dumbledore tossed him the watch. " - we could intelligently assume that it is indeed borrowed. When you're done with it, make sure to return it to Charlotte. I'm sure it would be in her best interests to return it to its rightful owner." When Snape caught in and looked at him curiously, the headmaster nodded at it before giving him a small smirk. "On the back of the face." He then left.

Snape looked at the back of the watch and mentally hit himself for not figuring this earlier. Against the silver back, there were three raised letters, which were a shade lighter. _STS_. It was his watch.

xXxXxXxXxXx

For the fifteen minutes, Charlotte amused herself by watching Hermione untangle the group of students who'd come in after her. Pomphrey had already failed and was standing off to the side, looking distraught and ready to rush in as soon as something went wrong – she could mend bones and cure maladies, but the woman just couldn't untangle a knot.

The group had been composed of first-years and looked absolutely terrified, but Hermione managed to separate them, almost treating the predicament as a riddle that needed solving. The only time she smiled was when they made progress and loosened the human knot, but Charlotte could have sworn that the other girl had enjoyed herself immensely.

Pomphrey quickly took over when the task was done and Hermione walked over to Charlotte, a small smile of victory on her face. "Still here?" she asked, sitting on the bed beside her.

Charlotte nodded. "I'm waiting for Madam Pomphrey to discharge me."

Hermione gave her a nod of approval. "I hate it when people run off without telling her. She's gotten to using me as her personal hunter nowadays."

Charlotte laughed, but then straightened and looked at her glumly. "Why did you agree to help Snape?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I thought we talked about you giving him a chance?"

"I'll give him a chance in class," Charlotte answered, evenly. "If you hadn't - "

"Are you still here, Charlotte?" Charlotte and Hermione turned to see Pomphrey who was looking curiously at them. The nurse then took hold of Charlotte's hand and examined it. "It seems to be alright now. Just try not to use it for a while."

"Great," Charlotte said, withdrawing her hand. "Thank you."

Pomphrey gave her a nod. "You're welcome. Do be careful in the future." She turned to Hermione. "There's a girl – with short, curly blonde hair - who refuses to take her medicine. See if you can reason with her?" When Hermione nodded, she left.

"I want to know what's wrong," Hermione said to Charlotte as soon as Pomphrey was gone. "I suppose you can't tell me in ten seconds?" she asked, eyebrows up.

Charlotte shook her head no. "It's a bit of a long story," she said, turning away.

Hermione eyed her. "Are you alright?" she asked. Charlotte nodded and gave her a small smile, but Hermione still felt that something was off. "Did he say something?" she suddenly asked, earnestly. After seven years of Snape's abuse, she herself had grown accustomed to it, but the new girl might not be as strong. She could clearly remember herself in first and second years when she would bolt out of his class, intent on finding a suitably secluded place so that she could cry her eyes out.

Charlotte shook her head again. "No." _Not yet._ "It is a long story." She suddenly looked at the older girl. "Can we meet up later? In the library and talk about this?"

Hermione nodded, growing a little concerned. "Yes. Sure." Charlotte nodded and she said, "I'll be done here in about two hours."

"Okay," Charlotte said, getting up off the bed and heading toward the exit. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Hermione called as Charlotte neared the doors.

Charlotte turned and waved before leaving, closing the door behind her.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Nice watch," Lupin said, turning it over in his hands. "Yours?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at him, and then gave him a curt nod. It was later in the day and the two were standing in Lupin's office.

"Where did you get it?"

Snape started to answer and then frowned when he couldn't think of a way to address Charlotte. The thought bothered him, but he pushed this to the side. He finally fixed Lupin with an even gaze. "We're to look it over for time traveling properties."

"Oh! Charlotte's watch!" Lupin gasped with exaggerated understanding.

Snape scowled. "Albus has already told you, then?"

Lupin nodded and waved him over to the chair in front of his desk in his office. "Albus told me that it was smashed against a wall earlier today. That could've affected it."

"I've already gone over it. I couldn't find anything," Snape answered as he sat down.

Lupin flopped down in his own chair and grinned at him for a second. "The great Severus Snape admits failure?" he asked.

"Why was it smashed against a wall?" Snape asked instead, growing tired of Lupin's games.

"Charlotte tripped or something," Lupin answered. He pretended to ignore Snape rolling his eyes then. "She was rushing to Potions," he added, scathingly.

"I don't set the schedule, Lupin," Snape answered, evenly.

Lupin didn't answer to this. "Anyways, she stumbled into the wall and hit the watch. It seems to be alright…" He set the watch on the table between them. "It's a handsome watch, Severus, but something's bothering me." At Snape's raised eyebrow, he nodded at it. "I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on teenage girls, but common sense would force one to think that most of them don't run around wearing their fathers' watches."

Snape eyed him. "What is your point?"

"Go ask her why she had it," Lupin replied promptly.

"She doesn't remember why she had it," Snape answered, dryly. "That's part of the whole issue."

Lupin didn't answer. He was staring intently at the watch. "What does R stand for?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lupin pushed the watch toward him a bit. "There's an R on the face."

"Oh." Snape frowned for a second. "I suppose it's the watchmaker's initial."

"What is it?" Lupin asked.

Snape only shrugged. "It could be anything. There were many watchmakers in the 1920s."

Lupin stared at him, curiously. "You hate anything secondhand. Why would you buy an antique?"

Snape frowned at the watch. "I wouldn't." He turned back to Lupin to see that the werewolf was smirking. "What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," Lupin answered, the corner of his lip quirking. "It's just that many things seem to change in the future. Your attitude toward antiques, for one. Your insistence of spending your life alone without a family, for another."

Snape scowled at him and slapped his hand over the watch, picking it up. "Just because she has my watch doesn't mean I've an active role in her life."

"She also has your name," Lupin stated, wryly.

"Few assessments should be based solely on names," was the Potions Master's curt, yet scathing response.

"She also has your watch."

"The watch doesn't count."

"Why?" Lupin asked, eyebrows rising.

"We've assumed that the watch is mine, based solely on initials. That's worse than basing assumptions solely on names. Therefore, the watch doesn't count."

Lupin stared at him. "Now you're trying to deny that the watch is yours?"

Snape didn't reply to this and looked at the watch instead. "I should return it to her. She was quite bent on having it back."

"I don't blame her. You are quite possessive."

Snape smirked at this evaluation. "Would a possessive man lend something to a sixteen year old?"

Lupin shook his head in disbelief. He had lost this argument, but he pressed on. "Why would you deny your own child?"

"I'm not having children," was the ready response. "They're such a bother."

"If you spent two minutes with her, you would see that she is far from anything even you would deem a bother."

"We'll see," Snape said, frowning contemptuously. "I'll have more than two minutes with her. Thanks to your damned boggart."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lupin suddenly asked, eyes narrowing. "Yesterday, you were so intent on having her in Slytherin and now you're acting as if you'd go to any extremes to make sure she'll never be born!"

"Who's acting?!" Snape retorted. "I wanted her in Slytherin because she's here now. Given a choice between having her in my house and having her never be born, I would quickly choose the latter."

"Why?!"

Snape didn't answer and for a long moment, the two sat staring each other down. All of a sudden, the Slytherin swept up from the table and headed for the door. As soon as he reached it, Lupin's voice made him stop.

"I've told you, Severus. You can't change fate." Snape turned and glowered at him, but Lupin met his gaze steadily. "Why can't you just accept your child and give happiness a chance?"

Snape eyed him evenly. "I can. I will." Then he was gone.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Hermione walked down to the library, feeling a little anxious. She didn't know why she was so worried, but there was something in Charlotte's cheery smile earlier that had seemed so fake. She was sure something was wrong and she was equally sure that the Potions Master had something to do with it. If so, what did her helping him with potions for the Infirmary have anything to do with it?

The brunette unconsciously quickened her pace. If her helping Snape did somehow hurt Charlotte, she would have to stop. If it was anything else that he'd done to the innocent new girl, _hell_ would rise.

The Head Girl gulped her anger down. She felt so protective of Charlotte, whether it was from the cold during a trip to Hogsmeade or from the threatening Potions Master of Hogwarts. She didn't know why at first, but she quickly came to see that she saw herself in Charlotte.

Hermione knew she and Charlotte had the obvious similarities in physical appearance, both being short, petite brunettes though Hermione's hair, having more volume, made her seem a little bigger. When she and Charlotte had gotten into a debate over which winter cloak to buy, the kindly old sales lady had told Charlotte to "hush up and listen to her big sister." Then, there were the intellectual similarities. Both were, to use Snape's words, "know-it-alls."

And the Potions Master – yes, he'd led a difficult life. Yes, he did a dangerous job playing double agent. But did that give him the right to treat people the way he does? Did it give him the right to take out his anger for James on Harry? But did that really give him the right to take out his anger with whatever else he was angry with on her? Maybe it was his comments on Babel fish or maybe it was the last unfair grade he'd awarded her, but Hermione had decided it was time his random harassment came to an end. He would not hurt Charlotte – who hadn't even had a class with him yet, for God's sake! – the way he'd been hurting her for the past seven years.

"Ms. Granger!"

Hermione froze and slowly turned around. _'Think of the devil…'_

"I don't suppose you are busy at the moment?" Snape asked when he reached her. Before Hermione could answer, he continued. "Go down to the classroom and go through the door on the southern wall."

Hermione's eyes widened. Those were his private labs… But she didn't have time now.

"There's a list of potions on the table," he continued. He moved as if to walk away, but then stopped and sneered down at her. "Brew them," he added as if talking to an imbecile.

Well,_ obviously._ "But, Sir, I have to meet up with Charlotte now," Hermione said.

Snape frowned at her. "I beg to differ. You'll be doing something quite different now." He glanced toward the library doors. "Miss Spena will spend the next few hours in detention with me."

Hermione stopped short and looked curiously up at him. "Why?" she asked, voice growing quiet.

"Because she is an irritating, stupid, pathetic excuse of a student whose mental abilities will be too poor to deem idiotic. And she will no doubt be the bane of my existence until she is gone," Snape snapped. He glared dangerously at her, daring her to say another word.

Hermione stared at him, a little shocked, but managed to find her voice. She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what she did, but she did not deserve that."

"She deserves more than that!" Snape stated, his voice almost contemptuous. "Her actions were possibly more infuriatingly foolish than anything even _you've_ managed to pull - "

"Shut up!" As soon as the words were out, Hermione slapped both hands over her mouth, eyes widening. She then braced herself, expecting Snape to snap again, but, surprisingly, the Potions Master seemed to calm down, though his eyes glittered.

"Well, well," he said, softly, stepping back up to her. He stepped close enough for her to need to take a step back and stumble into the wall. He towered over her and looked at her for a second. She stared up at him, amber eyes wide with shock, fear and still, a ready look of determination to not take her words back. This was probably why she had not yet apologized. "Look who has finally grown a backbone." Anger quickly joined the other emotions in her eyes. "Go," he finally said, jerking his head toward the dungeons. Hermione didn't wait one second before trying to bolt, but as an afterthought, Snape grabbed her arm and spun her round to face him again. "If you ever take that tone with me again," he hissed, dangerously. "I swear to Merlin I will beat you half to death. Now get out of my sight." He let her go and swept off toward the library.

Hermione turned and started walking toward the dungeons, slightly shaking. She had never seen him like that before… And she wasn't entirely sure it was because she'd told him to shut up… He'd been so angry, he'd even forgotten to take points of Gryffindor or give her a detention. But he'd been completely ballistic when he spoke about Charlotte… What had she done?

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Snape found Charlotte in the Eastern corner of the library, curled up asleep in a chair, an open book in her arms. Asleep. When she should have been studying. Or even nervously shuddering over what her memory may reveal. Scowling, he pulled the book out of her arms, absentmindedly glancing at the picture of a spider on the cover and throwing it onto the table. He then roughly shook Charlotte's shoulder.

Charlotte groaned a little. "Mm… Wha…" she managed.

"Get up, girl!" Snape snapped.

Charlotte almost instantly woke up. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and glowered up at Snape. "What is it?" she asked, a note of fatigue still detectable in her voice.

"Get up," Snape repeated, coldly as he looked at her. "It's time for your first lesson."

xXxXxXxXxXx

A/N

Sorry for the long wait! Also, those of you who're wondering about Circles – I can't get the next chapter up!! I put it up and it won't show on It's really annoying; I'm trying to figure it out.

Now, Charlotte… Things will get ever more interesting next chapter. These three things:

Snape's first attempt at surfacing Charlotte's repressed memory.

Snape and Hermione have another fight.

Hermione has an… _interesting_… talk with Charlotte about her family.

Many other things.

REVIEW!!

Ciao!

Luv

Creatress


	6. Two Bad Accidents and Two Worse Mistakes

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait. But, as promised, things get so much more interesting in this chapter.

Luv

Creatress

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Charlotte's Trip

Chapter 5 – Two Bad Accidents and Two Worse Mistakes

Filius Flitwick had just raised his hand to knock on the headmaster's office door when the older man called the word "Enter." Smiling softly to himself, Flitwick let his fist drop to his side and opened the door. "Headmaster," he greeted.

"Come in, Professor," Dumbledore said with a smile as Fawkes crooned. The headmaster got up and walked around to his couches on the other side of the office. "Will you sit?"

"Thank you," Flitwick said as he sat down. Dumbledore sat opposite to him. Before he could open his mouth, Flitwick added, "No, thank you."

Dumbledore only shrugged before smiling to himself and having a lemon drop. "Now," he said. "You seem to have something on your mind."

Flitwick opened his mouth, but then froze, not sure how to start. He let out a short laugh and shook his head. "I must be mad. You will never believe this…" He thought again. "Unless it is true, then you might believe this… As absurd as it sounds, there could be a chance that I think I possibly might have…" His voice trailed off again. "Gone mad - "

"There's no need, Filius," Dumbledore said, tone understanding. "I believe I know what is on your mind." He smiled at the professor's raised eyebrows. "I've seen the way you look at them. Hermione and Charlotte. I've seen the way you look at Severus. I, myself, take care not to stare at them in a similar fashion." He met Flitwick's eyes evenly. Flitwick's eyes were brimming with hope, waiting for Dumbledore to tell him that he was sane. "Rest assured; you are no madder than I." When he made this assessment, Dumbledore saw the hope in Flitwick's eyes be crushed by sorrow and disappointment. Dumbledore frowned. "That's not what I meant. I meant that you are sane and mentally healthy." His frown deepened. "You think me mad?"

Flitwick, who, for a second, had rejoiced that he wasn't insane, froze. "No," he lied. His mind then turned to think about Hermione and Charlotte. It took Flitwick a moment to gather his wits, and while he did, Dumbledore fished out another lemon drop.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like one?" he asked, holding it up.

The Charms professor, once again, ignored the sweet. He gaped at the older wizard, waiting for him to laugh and tell him it was a joke. When the headmaster did no such thing, Flitwick ventured, "So it is her then? It's Hermione?"

Dumbledore nodded.

Flitwick nodded, slowly. "It made no sense… But Charlotte implied that her father was about two decades older than her mother…"

"What else gave it away?"

"Her hair colour, her height… Her smile," Flitwick listed. He paused. "You know, they both move the same way." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and Flitwick continued. "Like, when they raise their hands to answer a question, they both lean a bit left, the slightest bit. Or when I call one of them and they both turn around at once – it's like one's beside a mirror. And they both have a habit of leaning quite close to a book when working under stress… But, I suppose Severus does that, too, so…" He shook his head. "And then there's her name."

"Her name?" Dumbledore asked.

"Semele," Flitwick said. "It's Ms. Spena's middle name." This only prompted another questioning look from the headmaster. Flitwick explained. "Mrs. Granger's full name is Jane Helen Granger. In Ancient Greek mythology, Hermione was the daughter of Helen, and that's probably why our Hermione is named Hermione. Semele was the daughter of Hermione."

Dumbledore's jaw had fallen a bit. "I should have changed her middle name," he mumbled.

Flitwick shook his head. "I don't suppose Severus knows…" He turned to frown at the headmaster. "But, still… How?"

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. Ignoring the questioning look on his colleague's face, he got up and strolled over to his pensieve. "You know, I once joked about this to Minerva. I told her that I would give my right hand to see Hermione win him over. Or to see Severus do vice versa. Minerva only laughed." He tapped it with his wand and the swirling memories glowed, emitting white light. "The worst part about Charlotte's presence here is resisting my temptation to run to Minerva and toot my horn." He looked rather wistful then. "I do hope that day will come when I finally can." He turned to Flitwick to find him in the same position he'd been in when he'd turned away. "Filius?" he asked.

"It all fits. It makes perfect sense," Flitwick said, quietly. He then looked at Dumbledore earnestly. "But on the other hand, it makes no sense whatsoever."

"How not?"

Flitwick seemed at a loss for words. Finally he exclaimed, "He hates her!"

Dumbledore cocked his head. "Does he now?" he asked, and shrugged. "Things change." He then grew serious and frowned. "Filius, you will not breathe a word of this to anybody."

Flitwick nodded, earnestly. "Of course, Headmaster." He then got up. "I suppose I'll take leave now. And try to figure out how I'll ever look at her or Severus the same ever again." He smiled softly to imply that he was joking, but had a feeling that Dumbledore didn't buy it. He himself didn't. The world just became so unpredictable, so unbelievable... How does one go about wrapping his mind around such an earth shattering realization? "I think I would like a lemon drop, Headmaster."

Dumbledore grinned and handed him one. "Good afternoon, Filius."

"Thank you. Good afternoon, Headmaster." Flitwick turned to leave, but stopped at the door. He turned back to the headmaster. "Hermione?" he asked, quietly. "Ms. Granger?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, with a nod. He smiled. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Flitwick seemed to snap out of the daze he was in. "But how?"

Dumbledore only shrugged. "I suppose only time will tell."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Charlotte quickly packed her books into her bag, including the one that Snape'd plucked out of her fingers. It was this fast work that was making her heart race, she thought to herself. Not the impending terror of reliving her biggest fear. "But I was supposed to meet Hermione," she suddenly said. She looked up at him. "So, you see, Sir, I can't - "

"Ms. Granger will be preoccupied for the next few hours," Snape cut in, irritated. "I've seen to that. Rest assured, she won't have the time or energy to miss you."

Charlotte turned back to her packing and let her hair fall forward and curtain her face before scowling blackly. She couldn't talk Hermione out of helping him now; she'd already started. She glanced at Snape through her hair and frowned. She was quite sure he was doing this just to spite her. Why, she had no idea - she hadn't done anything to him. Her books packed, she stood up, tucking her hair behind her ear. She stood soberly, looking up at him, awaiting instructions.

Snape only eyed her and nodded, before turning to leave. "Follow," he said.

Well, obviously. Shaking her head a little, she followed him out of the library and down the hallways to the dungeons. Finally they reached the potions classroom. They entered it and Charlotte saw that all the students' desks had been cleared to create space in the room.

"Place your bag near the wall," Snape instructed and Charlotte complied, placing her bag gingerly down against the wall. Snape had walked to stand behind his desk and so Charlotte moved to stand on the other side. "We'll start by testing your memory. How strong it could be in ordinary situations." With a wave of his wand, ten different items appeared on his desk. They were completely random and unrelated - a small piece of parchment, a toothpick, a ball, an inkwell, a string of yarn, a jar of red liquid, a blue ribbon, a lock of white hair, a rock, and a green tie. "Close your eyes!" Snape suddenly barked.

Charlotte started and then quickly shut her eyes, knowing what he was doing.

"Open them now," Snape said.

Charlotte opened her eyes and ran them over his desk. Before he could get a word out, she stated, in a rather bored voice, "The yarn's gone."

Snape didn't say anything for a moment, and only raised an eyebrow at her. He then nodded and the yarn appeared in out of thin air and fell back into place. Another wave of his wand and ten more items, again random and unrelated, appeared to join the other ten on his desk. Charlotte studied them for about five seconds before closing her eyes again, not waiting for Snape to order her about.

"Open them," she heard him say.

Charlotte looked at his desk. "The toothpick." And then she noticed something. "That tie used to be green," she added, nodding at the black tie.

"Where have you done this before?" Snape asked, eyeing her.

Charlotte sighed. "I've had a lot of practice. My mother started playing this with me when I was a child to help me improve my mental abilities."

Snape's lip curled a little in distaste, a small part of his curiosity piqued. He ignored this however. "When you look at these items, how do you remember them?"

"I take a mental picture," Charlotte replied.

Snape studied her for a moment and then nodded. "I see." He pulled a small vial of brown coloured liquid out a drawer and walked round to the front of his desk as Charlotte took a few steps back. "You haven't taken any potions in the recent past, have you?"

Charlotte shook her head.

"Are you certain? This could react with anything else in your system and the results would be far from desired. What was the last thing you took?" he asked her.

Charlotte thought for a second. "Madam Pomphrey gave me some painkiller today."

"That shouldn't matter. Anything before that?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Before I came here, she gave me some medicine for a cold I had two weeks ago."

Snape then handed her the vial. "Then drink that."

Charlotte turned the vial in her hands, examining it, a frown on her face. "What is it?" she asked, curiously.

"It helps one remember events that occurred a long time ago. Especially ones that have been repressed."

Charlotte nodded, and then gulped it down quickly before she could give herself a chance to hesitate. The warm potion went down quickly and caused her to shudder. It tasted just a little bitter and she almost choked while swallowing. It burned the back of her throat and she almost made a face at this.

For a second, they stood still, facing each other. And Snape then said the words Charlotte was dreading. "Think of your fear."

Charlotte stared at him for a few seconds, a sense of defiance in her eyes. But she hesitated, and then slowly nodded. In her mind, she conjured a picture of her boggart. It was black, white... Some red... Her palms were growing sweaty. She focused on the monster before her... And felt a prodding between her eyes. Instincts kicking in, she slammed her occlumency walls down, blocking Snape out.

Feeling her occlumency throwing him out of her mind, Snape scowled at her. "You'll have to let me in, girl. How else am I to help you?" he asked, scathingly. "Impertinent..." he muttered, lowly.

Charlotte nodded, warily. "Sorry, Sir. I just reacted - "

"Control your reactions!" Snape snapped. He ignored the anger that flashed across her face and eyed her. His curiosity getting the better of him, he asked her something that had been on his mind. "Who taught you occlumency?"

"My father."

There was that hit against his chest again. He'd felt it once before when he'd been climbing up the spiral steps to Dumbledore's office with her. It left a lingering ache, and Snape swallowed in an attempt to get rid of it. He did recognize that he was grateful, though - grateful that Lupin wasn't here to hear that. The Potions Master had no doubt how he'd react. Shuddering in disgust, he faced Charlotte again. "Think of it again."

Nodding, Charlotte started picturing her boggart again.

Snape stared into her eyes and scowled. Her occlumency was already working - she didn't have quite a grasp on it. It was strong, but she couldn't will it up and down whenever she wanted to. This would be a setback. Before getting to the barriers surrounding her memory in her subconscious, he would have to get past the barriers of occlumency in her conscience. That would take one strong, swift blow into her mind.

Snape looked at her. Oh, well. He'd warned her. The Potions Master dove into her mind, this time, quite strongly.

He saw darkness, all around him and one vertical line of white. This was all he saw in the split second he was in Charlotte's mind because a pained scream tore him out again.

Snape, for once in his life, was too taken aback and confused to react. He blinked when he found himself out of Charlotte's mind and froze when he saw that Charlotte had crumpled to the floor and was screaming as if under the Cruciatus. Her shrieks echoed throughout the room, and throughout the castle, he was sure.

Hermione, who'd been chopping orchid leaves, had almost sliced through her hand at the sound of the first scream. She turned to the door leading to the classroom, eyes wide with surprise and fear. It had sounded like Charlotte. Another scream filled the rooms. Throwing the knife down, she bolted to the door and threw it open, rather like how Snape does at the beginning of every period. She barely glanced at the Potions Master, who was still trying to figure out what had gone wrong, and quickly ran to Charlotte, crouching down on the floor beside her. Terror coursing through her, she gathered the younger girl into her arms.

Snape decided to leave Hermione to it and left to get Dumbledore, not bothering to verbally instruct Hermione not to leave Charlotte alone.

Hermione didn't notice the Potions Master leave. She was looking Charlotte over, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. "Charlotte," she whispered. "Be alright. Please be alright." Charlotte's screams had subsided into sobs as she cried against Hermione's chest. She tried to say something as she leaned into her, clutching the older girl's sleeve. "What?" Hermione whispered.

Charlotte gasped for breath, face stilled buried in Hermione's robes. "I - " she tried, collapsing into sobs again. "Not supposed to..." She started crying harder.

"Shh, it's alright. I'm sure Professor Snape went to get Madam Pomphrey. You're going to be alri - "

"I'm sorry," Charlotte sobbed, taking a shuddering breath. She tried to continue, but couldn't, as she'd started crying again.

"What?" Hermione asked, surprised, looking down at the top of Charlotte's head. Charlotte didn't reply; she only continued to sob. Not knowing what else to do, Hermione just held her, telling her once in a while that everything was okay.

The main door finally opened and Dumbledore stepped through, followed closely by Lupin. The headmaster looked at the Ravenclaw in concern before turning to Hermione. "Madam Pomphrey's preparing a bed." Hermione only nodded. "Just hold her; that's all we can do until Professor Snape comes back." He didn't see the flash of anger cross Hermione's eyes at this. He then pulled Lupin a few meters away and they started talking in hushed voices.

Hermione noticed that Charlotte had gone silent. She looked down at her to find her staring down at the floor, though she was still leaning limply against Hermione. "Charlotte?" she asked, quietly. She started to pull away a little, but Charlotte started and tightened her grip on Hermione's sleeve.

"Don't leave," she whispered, still staring at the floor.

"Sure," Hermione answered. "I won't."

The door slammed open and Charlotte moved closer to Hermione, startled by the noise. Hermione glared at Snape as he stalked up to them. He held a vial with a cloudy clear liquid. "It's a sedative," he said. "She'll have to take it."

Charlotte cringed away from him, eyes still on the floor.

Hermione felt Charlotte move closer to her and wanted to yell at Snape for whatever he'd done, but forced the urge down. She spoke to Charlotte instead. "Charlotte, come. It's only a sedative." She suddenly felt Charlotte shudder and bury her face in the Gryffindor's robes again.

Before Hermione could react, Snape had let out a sound of irritation before dropping to one knee to be almost at eyelevel with them. He reached out and grasped Charlotte's chin and forced her to look away from Hermione. Hermione and Charlotte both started to protest, but he ignored them. When he saw Charlotte's eyes, he cursed softly and even heard Hermione stop protesting to gasp and fall silent. Even Dumbledore and Lupin were stunned. Charlotte's irises seemed to have grown twice their usual size, and they were also foggy and unclear.

It took Hermione two seconds to figure out what was going on. Her irises had almost taken over her eyes. Charlotte wasn't in the right state of mind. She was lost in a dream, fantasy, memory or some other mental creation and was partially or totally unaware of what was going on in the reality around her. This was also why the girl was acting like a child - so she was probably in a memory or dream that occurred when she was a child. This was usually the side effect of mind magic, i.e. legilimency, gone horribly wrong.

Charlotte was still fighting, trying to struggle out of Snape's grasp. He scowled. "Hold her!" he barked at Hermione, who, still in shock, obeyed by tightening her arms around the younger girl. Snape then popped the cork off the vial with one hand while trying to open Charlotte's mouth with the other.

"Maybe a stupify?" Dumbledore asked.

"No!" Lupin and Snape answered quickly in response. As Snape continued to fight with Charlotte, Lupin turned to Dumbledore. "It may act as a catalyst to whatever's already happening. No spells."

"Hold her still!" Snape suddenly snapped at Hermione, when Charlotte managed to escape the vial once again, causing some of the sedative to spill across her cheek.

"Stop being so rough with her!" Hermione retorted, not bothering to check the fact that she was talking back to a teacher.

Dumbledore looked at the three of them and suddenly remembered a time long ago, of watching his own parents try to force flu medicine into his struggling younger brother. If the situation wasn't so dire, he would have smiled fondly at the memory.

Meanwhile, Snape had managed to tilt some of the potion into Charlotte's mouth and had clamped a hand over her lips. Charlotte convulsed once and her irises shrunk, though her eyes still had a glazed look to them. She looked up at Hermione, who was still holding her. "It's alright. Rest now," she heard her say softly. And then her eyes closed and she went limp against the older girl, completely unconscious.

Snape nodded once in satisfaction and got up. He eyed the unconscious girl and wondered what might have gone wrong.

Hermione let out the breath she'd been holding. There was still some potion on Charlotte's cheek. She gently wiped it away with her thumb.

"Well," Lupin said. He conjured a stretcher beside Charlotte. "We should get her to the hospital wing. Madam Pomphrey will take it from here."

Hermione gently moved her friend onto the stretcher and Lupin raised her up and walked out of the door, carefully driving the stretcher ahead of him.

Dumbledore turned to Snape and Hermione. "That was quite an episode..." he murmured, eyeing Snape, who was still staring at the spot where Charlotte used to be, wondering what had happened. The Headmaster then looked at Hermione, who was still on her knees, looking tired and worried. "Lemon drop?"

Snape's eyes whipped up to meet his own and he scowled blackly. "Get out, Albus," he stated with obvious irritation.

Dumbledore only shrugged and gave them a small smile before obeying. He shut the door with a soft click behind him.

Hermione's amber eyes shifted to the Potions Master, who seemed to feel her gaze and turned to her. She got up from the floor and stared evenly at him. "What happened?" she asked him, for the second time that night.

"Ms. Spena is proving to be more trouble than originally expected," Snape responded, smoothly. "That is what happened."

"She was on the floor, screaming and crying."

"No need for a recap, Ms. Granger. I was here as well," he said. He started to turn away to walk to his desk. "Shouldn't you be brewing something?"

"Why do you do this?" Hermione suddenly asked, softly.

Snape stopped and turned to look at her. "Why do I do what?"

"Why do you treat her the way you do?"

"That is of none of your concern," he scowled. Before he could order her back to work, she spoke again.

"Then tell me why you treat me the way you do."

A raised eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Hermione gave him a pointed look. "I imagine it must be for the same reason."

Snape almost rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"This was about what happened over the Babel fish, wasn't it?" Her voice was a little louder this time.

Snape eyed her and allowed himself a small smirk. "You believe that she was here for detention because she's as much of a know-it-all as you are?" Hermione's silence indicated that this was exactly what she thought, and he almost laughed out loud. "You don't know the half of it, Ms. Granger." He turned and stalked into his office, slamming the door behind him. His eyes fell on the memory potion he'd brewed for Charlotte. "Not even I understand it."

xXxXxXxXx

_She screamed again and again and again, as loud as her little lungs could manage. She ran out of breath and started crying in panic and fear before starting another round of screaming for help. She couldn't see in the darkness, and she couldn't move. Something moved over her mouth and muffled her cries. Minutes or hours, she didn't know which, passed by as she clawed and fought with everything around her, trying to find an escape. Finally, through her own silent screaming and the blood pounding in her ears, she thought she heard another voice._

…

…

_The darkness was suddenly broken by a dim light and she heard her mother's voice, trying to calm her down and keep her steady… She couldn't do it; her mother sounded just as hysterical as she did. She felt her mother wipe her face with something soft in quick, gentle strokes, probably trying to wipe the tears and the blood away. Finally, she gave up and simply hugged her daughter to her, holding her tightly as the girl continued to cry over what had just happened. Soon the little girl felt her hair become tousled and damp with her mother's tears_

…

…

_There was banging. And other loud sounds that she cringed away from. She could hear her parents talking – _

_They were trying to get her to drink something that smelled, in her opinion, of sour cherries. She fought, but they were stronger and she finally gave into her mother's soft voice, encouraging her to drink. And she felt so tired. "Rest now," she heard her say. So she did._

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"Charlotte? Are you awake?"

Charlotte opened her eyes. "How can you tell?" she asked.

Hermione smiled. "Rapid Eye Movement. You were either awake or very lightly asleep."

Charlotte mirrored her smile. "What time is it?" she asked, looking around the very dimly lit infirmary.

"It's about 6:30 in the morning," Hermione replied. "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

Charlotte thought for a second and the previous nights' events came rushing back to her. "Oh, fuckin'…" she cursed, softly.

"Now, Charlotte, there's no need for that," Hermione said, rather unenthusiastically. Her tone of voice suggested that Charlotte probably did have a right to cuss up a storm and a whole natural disaster. "Are you in pain anywhere?"

Charlotte swallowed and shook her head. She looked carefully at the Head Girl and took in her rather pale face and her half-lidded eyes. "How long have you been here?"

"Umm," Hermione mumbled, awkwardly. "A while." There'd been a book on her lap and she put in on the side table. "Madam Pomphrey was here, too. She's been watching you all night. I thought she should take a break. What happened was… rather… frightful…" Her voice trailed off and she tiredly leaned against the bed so that she was half lying on it. "We were all worried."

Charlotte looked at her. "You just sat here all morning?" At Hermione's awkward nod, a wave of nostalgia passed over her. She bit her lower lip as she suddenly remembered something. Unfortunately, Charlotte was bad at hiding her feelings and Hermione was perceptive.

"What's wrong?" the Gryffindor asked, worried.

Charlotte shook her head. "I just…" She smiled through her tears a little. "When I was in fifth year, four of my friends and I ended up sneaking into the library after hours. Gods, I don't even remember why now. We took two invisibility cloaks and when we got there, I'd gotten out from under one and moved a bit away from them. We were at the western corner – that's where I study."

Hermione smiled. The western corner was a cozy corner of the library with two armchairs and a loveseat with a table in the middle of the chairs. But it was small and because there was little space to put ones things, there was a small closet, big enough to fit a person (Ron, Neville and Dean had locked Harry in there once as a joke) in the corner. Surrounded by shelves, it was also a quiet place. It was her favourite studying place.

"Anyways, Filch showed up… None of us knew he was there until Mrs. Norris started hissing – she'd sensed us. My friends dove under the cloaks again and I remember one of them – Rosa, I think – started whispering 'get over here!' but there wasn't enough time," Charlotte frowned.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

Charlotte sighed in embarrassment. "I started running over, trying to be as quiet as possible, and I tripped over a fold in the carpet," she said, shaking her head. "I fell into a bunch of books, and they went flying, so of course Filch heard." She paused for a second. "So the smart thing to do would be to hide, right?" Hermione nodded along and Charlotte sighed. "One of my friends whispered to get into the closet – there's a closet at the western end, you know – but, I ignored her and, instead, I started climbing up a ladder against a shelf." Hermione's eyebrows went up and Charlotte sighed again. "It was stupid, I know. I guess I thought that if I got up high enough, he would miss me. When I got to the top, I realized it was too short so I cast a spell to make it even longer and kept climbing…"

Hermione frowned. "It fell over, didn't it?"

Charlotte nodded. "It was too long and it wasn't grounded. I just lost my balance." She shook her head. "I crashed to the floor and just blacked out." But then she smiled. "When I woke up, it was the middle of the night. And Elizabeth – she's my best friend – was asleep in a chair next to me. It was so… Sweet. And touching. And… I don't know, you just reminded me of Elizabeth. I know this sounds incredibly corny, but…"

Hermione smiled. "No, no. You know a person truly cares when they hold a vigil for you."

Charlotte smiled as well and continued. "Anyways, my friends didn't leave me alone that day. It was a Saturday and they spent the whole day with me. Even some of the others. Like Tom…" She the corner of her lip quirked a little. "Even this brat named Jason – I have to tutor him in Potions theory – and we absolutely despise each other, and even he was there for a while…" She turned away and her eyes grew wet. "Gods, I just miss them all." She frowned. "Even Jason. That's just scary." She turned back to Hermione. "I mean, I usually spend so much time planning his demise."

Hermione smiled at her behaviour. "Why don't you tell about your friends?" she asked, trying to keep her from becoming homesick.

"Okay," Charlotte mumbled. "There's Elizabeth. She's my best friend and she's in Ravenclaw with me. Then, there's Dante, Rosa and Daphne. We're tight with them as well. Dante's in Slytherin – she's the one who's usually with me when we plan something…" She winced under the look on Hermione's face then. "Well, not illegal, per se, but… You know."

Hermione smiled tiredly and, remembering her own escapades over the years, nodded, understandingly. Kettles mustn't call pots black.

Charlotte grinned and continued. "Rosa's just sweet, and kind, and loyal… It's impossible to feel anything bad toward her. Hufflepuff," she smirked. "And then, we have Daphne. Daphne… She's just cool. Gryffindor."

"So…" Hermione asked, mischievously. "Who's _Tom_?"

Charlotte flushed. "Tom Arthur Elder. He's Slytherin." She only smiled, sheepishly at the look on Hermione's face. When the older girl sighed and gestured for her to continue, she laughed. "But, he's really, really nice. And smart. And funny. And witty. And he kills at Quidditch – he's seeker. But, honestly, though, I'm not on the team, but I could probably whip him. But, he's better than everybody else, which kind of sucks, because Ravenclaw hasn't won the tournaments yet. Well, we did in our first year…"

Hermione tried to keep from laughing and telling the younger girl that she was starting to babble. Usually, she wasn't interested in talking about boys, but Charlotte… She wasn't quite sure why, but it was different with Charlotte.

"… but he's not stuck-up at all," Charlotte seemed to finish. Then, "He's Dante and Daphne's cousin."

"Dante and Daphne are sisters?"

"No, they're cousins as well. They're Wea - "

"Oh, Charlotte, you're awake?" Madam Pomphrey appeared at the side of the bed. "Is everything alright?"

Hermione stood up to give her a full report and Charlotte looked around her cubicle, feeling a little breathless from her rather long and detailed description of one Tom Elder. When Madam Pomphrey left a few minutes later after looking her over, she looked over at Hermione who had a curious look on her face. "What is it?" she asked when Hermione sat down again.

Hermione looked uncertain and she frowned. "You… You're from the Donna Academy?" Charlotte nodded. "Until a few days ago?" Another nod from Charlotte. "They follow the same House systems?" Charlotte nodded again, but there was the slightest hesitation before she did so. Hermione's frowned deepened. "How… How did you almost get caught by _Filch_ last year?"

Charlotte blinked for a second. Then she slumped against the pillow and closed her eyes. "Dammit…" she muttered.

"Charlotte?" Hermione asked.

"What would you like? The crazy truth or a crazier story about a Canadian custodian, also named Filch, who also has a cat named Norris?" She paused and looked at the older girl with a sober expression. "Personally, I believe you'd prefer the latter."

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A/N

OoOo… Long. It was longer, but I cut the ending off to save it for the next chapter. Here's what will happen next:

1) Albus and Co. will have to let Hermione in on the secret. So, Hermione now knows as much as McGonagall or Lupin…

2) Snape gets summoned. (Uh oh…)

3) Charlotte tells Hermione more about the future… And starts remembering a few things herself.

4) How Charlotte fell into the past.


	7. Bonding Over Vigils

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

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Author's Note:

Okay, I made you wait a lot, so this chapter is extra long! Enjoy!

Luv

Creatress

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Chapter 7 – Bonding Over Vigils

Snape was just writing out the instructions to brew pain-relieving potion when his left forearm burned mercilessly. He inhaled sharply, clutching at it and dropped the chalk. He stumbled into his room, grabbed some floo powder and threw it into the fire. "Dumbledore," he hissed. Dumbledore's face appeared in the flames. Before the old man could get a word out, Snape said, "I've been summoned." The Potions Master was gone before he saw Dumbledore nod soberly.

As Dumbledore went back to his desk to worry about him, Snape quickly left his room and made his way down a deserted corridor. This one was very rarely used, as it was deep in the dungeons, very dimly lit and out of the way of the normal population of the school. He didn't know where it led – he hadn't bothered exploring it.

He walked through it, counting his steps. Sixty-four, sixty-five, sixty-six. Sixty-six steps. He turned to face a stone wall, which blended innocently with its surroundings. If he hadn't been counting his steps, he could never find it. He reached out and started tapping the stones in order.

When he was done, a major portion of the wall melted away to reveal a large, wooden wardrobe.

Before the previous year, this wardrobe, which had been housed in his bedroom, provided the only means by which he could apparate into, out of and around Hogwarts. It was rather large, walk-in, and held Potions ingredients.

During the previous year, the Ministry decided to have a surprise raid on Hogwarts, to keep up appearances. Luckily for Snape, out of the ten Aurors who scoured his room, the only one who'd been suspicious of the wardrobe was none other than his friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt. After the raid was over, Shacklebolt met Snape and urged him to move the bloody thing – Snape would have been arrested, tried and executed within an hour if anyone else had noticed anything about it. Especially in the rooms of a former (and suspected _current_) Death Eater.

The wardrobe was innocent enough, until one applied pressure to the corner of the floor of it, on the spot just beside the door's lowest hinge. Snape did so and stood back a bit. The back of the wardrobe, its shelves and its contents disappeared, to reveal his Death Eater garb. The robes were hung up, the mask hung on the top, its skeletal features gleaming in the dim light, its eye holes staring menacingly at him. He picked up the mask and, putting it on, stepped into the wardrobe, shutting the door behind him. The wall closed up again.

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Dumbledore didn't have much time to dwell on Snape's wellbeing however – the headmaster was quickly called to the Infirmary by a wild-eyed Hermione Granger seconds later. When he arrived there, he saw Hermione sitting at Charlotte Spena's bedside, both of them talking feverishly as if trying to get out a million different things at once. He cautiously walked up to them, sensing something was wrong – it was only 6:45 am and the day was getting worse by the second. "Ms. Granger? Ms. Spena?" he asked, taking a seat on the opposite side.

"She knows," Charlotte said, bluntly. "I've slipped."

Dumbledore looked from one girl to another. "I see," he said. "May I ask how?"

Charlotte told him about the house systems, and mentioning Filch and Norris as Hermione nodded along. When she finished, she let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry," she said.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No need for that, Miss Spena," he said. He nodded at Hermione. "I'm actually surprised we were able to keep it from Miss Granger for so long."

"Did you mean that? Or… Are you trying to flatter me into forgetting what just happened?" Hermione asked with a frown.

Dumbledore shrugged. "A bit of both." He looked at her with a serious expression. "Miss Granger, it is of the utmost importance that nobody finds out about this."

Hermione nodded. "Of course, Sir."

"And both of you realize that it is best if Miss Granger doesn't learn much about the future?"

Twin nods from both girls.

Dumbledore looked at them and the corner of his lips twitched. "Then… I guess we have no problem." He nodded at them. "Ladies."

"Sir," the two girls murmured as he got up and left. Hermione wasn't sure, but she could have sworn he'd winked at her before leaving.

Hermione flopped down on the bed and looked at Charlotte. "So…" she mumbled.

Charlotte nodded. "So."

Hermione let her eyes wander a bit. "Is there a Granger at Hogwarts in the future?"

"None that I know of..."

Hermione frowned. "Oh."

"But it's a big school and I'm only one person."

Hermione nodded, relenting. "I suppose… I suppose I can't ask you if the war with Voldemort has ended?" She quickly looked away. "No, that's too much. Don't answer… Gods…"

"Ask me something else then?" Charlotte asked, quickly.

Hermione looked at her earnestly. "Do you know anyone from here?"

Charlotte hesitated before speaking. "Luna's my Godmother."

Hermione's jaw dropped open and she scrambled up with an excited smile. "Really?" she gasped.

Charlotte nodded, an excited smile starting to form across her lips as well. "She and my Mum are close. She was there when I was born," she said.

Hermione stared at her. "Who are your parents?" she asked.

"My father was – will be … is – oh, _bother_ – Severus Spena. My mother's name is Mia."

Hermione shook her head. "Don't know them. Hogwarts alumni?"

Charlotte nodded. "Yes." She frowned. "I know my mother should probably be here right now, but I couldn't find her." She shrugged. "Guess I was wrong."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Charlotte, is that a wise thing to do? To look for her? I know curiosity would make you search, but..."

Charlotte nodded. "I know." Her frown deepened. "Time travel has been such a bother. I've always got to watch what I say - "

"Something you've actually neglected to do, by the way," Hermione cut in with a smirk.

Charlotte gave her a soft smile. "My father wouldn't be proud. He says sometimes I keep talking when I really should shut up," she laughed.

Hermione giggled, and was about to say something, but saw that Charlotte's smile had grown quite soft and a homesick look passed over the Ravenclaw's eyes. "You miss them."

Charlotte nodded. "I keep thinking what he or my mother would do." She sighed and slumped back into bed. "No doubt, they would have found a way back by now."

"What's Dumbledore's plan for that?" Hermione asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "He doesn't have one. Snape's supposed to be doing research." She frowned. "As if he'd help…"

Hermione gave her a condescending look. "I'm sure he's trying his best. Besides, I know your situation now, and I can scour the library for you."

Charlotte grinned. "Thank you." Hermione hesitated before asking her next question, and Charlotte saw. "What's wrong?"

Hermione looked at her, her amber eyes worried. "What happened yesterday?"

Charlotte frowned for a second. "I suppose I'd better start at the beginning…" She mumbled. "We had a boggart in Lupin's class…" She told Hermione about her repressed fear, describing the boggart as well as she could. She told her about Lupin's offer to get Snape to help, and the after-class lesson that followed.

"That's why you didn't want me to help Professor Snape," Hermione said, thoughtfully. "You figured that if he'd have to do the work himself, he wouldn't have time for you."

Charlotte nodded. "I started thinking about my dreams and my fear… But as soon as I felt him enter my mind, it just burst." She rubbed her head and frowned. "I think I remember being home…"

"You were out of it for a while," Hermione said.

Charlotte cuddled beneath the sheets and looked at her friend. "I could have sworn I was with my mother." She got a faraway look in her eyes. "I could have sworn… Her voice…"

"Tell me about her?"

Charlotte smiled a little. "She was Gryffindor. Smart, polite Dr. Spena." She suddenly looked around the infirmary. "She used to work here, at the infirmary, when Madam Pomfrey went on a vacation and at St. Mungo's the rest of the time." She turned back to Hermione and smiled. "Stickler for rules." Her lips quirked. "But she never punished us."

Hermione laughed a little. "Why?"

Charlotte shook her head. "When I was little, she just never punished me. She'd encourage me to obey the rules and be a good little girl, but…" She giggled. "Everything was just too severe for her. She'd take away dessert and it would take two minutes of crying for her to come running back with the desert and ice cream on top of it with hugs and kisses for being so mean." She laughed at the memory.

Hermione also laughed, albeit disbelievingly. "You _owned_ your mother," she exclaimed.

Charlotte smiled and shook her head. "No. She quickly figured out that the only threat that worked was 'Wait until your father gets home.'"

Hermione smirked. "You owned your father, as well?"

Charlotte snorted. "My father has all the kindness – and mercy – of a seventeenth century executioner."

Hermione gave her a look. "I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad."

Charlotte shook her head, but there was still a slight smile on her face. "I've never been under the Crucio, but I'm sure that if the world of pain doesn't reach peak at my father's hand, it does at his belt." She saw Hermione's eyes widen then, and added, "But it never came to that."

"It didn't?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows.

Charlotte shook her head and smirked. "Because for all the 'Wait until your father gets home' stuff, my mother usually stands in the doorway, making sure _he_ isn't too severe either. I think I can recall only… Once? Twice? When he's smacked me…" She laughed. "And there's the fact I'm such a good girl who never gets into trouble." Hermione gave her a disbelieving look and Charlotte laughed out loud. "Fine, I just don't get caught often. By my mother."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "By your mother?"

Charlotte nodded. "My father could catch me, but he was very lenient, actually, about rules. The saying to live by in my household was 'If it's something Mum wouldn't find out about, and it's something that wouldn't piss Father off, then it's something's that perfectly fine.'" She rolled her eyes. "I think I've based a lot of childhood decisions on that."

"He was… lenient as long as it didn't hurt _him_?" Hermione asked, surprised.

Charlotte nodded. "For example, I remember two times I broke the rules by sneaking out of bed past curfew when I was around four. I'd just gotten a bed – when you get out of a crib, you enjoy your freedom! The first time, I - " She made a face. " – caught my parents snogging." Hermione burst out laughing and Charlotte swatted her. "Shut up, it was traumatic!" she exclaimed, snickering. "Anyways, he found out, yelled at me to go back to bed and grounded me for two weeks. Later, I snuck out again, all for the sole purpose of gluing blue and green glitter to my mother's cat. My mother found out, and sentenced me to Wait Until Father Came Home." Charlotte paused for a second and burst out laughing. "When he called me to his study later that night, I was so-o-o-o scared. So, of course, by this time, my mother's started feeling guilty, but he ordered her out and locked the door. I was _quaking_…" Charlotte grinned at Hermione. "You know what he did?"

Hermione eyed Charlotte's amused grin and warily asked "What?"

"He first asked me how long it took my mother to clean the cat up. I told him I didn't know," Charlotte paused. "It took her hours," she laughed. "He just kind of raised an eyebrow and repeated the question. So I told him it took me more time to put the glitter on him." She shook her head. "He just laughed and gave me a congratulatory pat on the head for making the cat suffer."

Hermione looked at her skeptically and rather worriedly. "So your father's never hit you?"

Charlotte shook her head. "He'd never hit _me_." She sat up straighter, primly and exclaimed in a playfully egotistical voice: "I'm an extremely smart, focused young woman who doesn't often get into trouble at school and who likes to torture his worst enemy of the feline variety." She snorted and collapsed against the pillow again. "Threats? Sure. But I doubt he'd go through with it."

Hermione frowned again and looked at Charlotte soberly. "If I'd found out that you're being abused, I would have made Professor Snape stop working on a way to send you back," she stated.

Charlotte snorted again and smiled, grimly. "Don't worry, he's never beat me." She paused. "His father beat him when he was a kid. I mean, not a few smacks here and there, I mean, really beat him to hell and back. For no good reason." She frowned. "I listened in on him talking to my mother – that was his argument for giving us a whack on the back or around the head for really, really screwing things up." Her frown deepened.

Hermione tilted her head, seeing the younger girl get lost in her thoughts again. "Charlotte?" she asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "I was thinking… They never hurt; his yelling was worse, but… I really milked it to my mother. Made it out like the punishments were worse than what they were – played the sympathy card. But his bark truly was worse than his bite." She shrugged and smiled. "Sometimes, I'd sit there listening to him ranting about whatever happened and I'd just think, 'Alright, just shut up and hit me already, so that I could run to Mum and get my hugs and kisses and treats.'"

Hermione looked at her. "I can't believe your mother just lets it happen."

"Let's what happen?"

"The yelling," the older girl answered. "And the hitting, no matter how rarely!"

Charlotte only smiled, amused. "I went to visit my Aunt Vicki in Toronto once and we went to this comedy show, where the comedian made fun of hitting kids." She waved a hand, dismissively at Hermione's look of horror. "No, no, it was funny… Umm, Russell Peters, I think his name was. This was when I was twelve or thirteen… Anyways, he was saying that white people don't know how to beat their children. His advice was 'Go to the malls, watch how the Asians and the Black People do it!'…" Her voice trailed off. "Okay, the point is, most people go overboard, like my grandfather. But my father doesn't."

Hermione simply stared at her. "Fine," she sighed.

"No, seriously," Charlotte insisted. "There was one time I saw him at his worst, and it wasn't even with me! This was the summer after fourth year. I was dared to meet some of my friends at a park at 2:00am." She saw Hermione raise her eyebrows in question. "Just to prove that we could do it… Yes, I realize it sounds stupid now, but it seemed like a good idea at the time… You see, Father was away on some expedition to harvest a rare plant so who'd catch me? Anyways, I was sneaking out of my room around 1:30 am and I went downstairs…" Her voice trailed off and she smiled, wryly. "For the second time in a decade, I caught my parents snogging again."

Hermione snickered. "I thought your father was away?"

"My mother said he'd be home 'in the morning' and I figured he'd show up on the door step after the sun came up. Apparently, she'd meant he'd be home when we woke up."

"You have the worst luck…" Hermione mumbled, shaking her head.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, I should just double check things." She cleared her throat. "So with my parents kissing in front of the front door, there was no way I could leave that way, so I went back into my room. I was starting to think I'd failed when someone started throwing stones at my window. I looked outside to find Tom and Jason."

Hermione frowned. "Classic. So the prince comes to take you away…"

Charlotte had scrunched up her face. "Meh… Jason'd stayed over at Tom's that day and since Tom's house is close by, they came over to see if I'd left. Taking me away? Tom _tried_…" Shaking her head, she continued. "I didn't have a broom so I couldn't fly out." She paused. "There was a tree about two meters away from my window. So they had this brilliant idea that I should jump to the tree and climb down."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Please don't tell me you did that."

Charlotte was quiet for a second. "Okay, I won't tell you."

Hermione looked at her, mouth agape in shock and exasperation. "Must I ask what happened or may I just go ahead and assume the worst?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Tom _tried_ to catch me…" she mumbled.

Hermione went limp against the sheets and looked at the younger girl in shock. "Charlotte, are you kidding?!" She shook her head. "I thought you'd have better judgment than that." Charlotte opened her mouth to state her case, but Hermione cut her off. "But your judgment is the Anti-Tom. It is the shadow to his light; it disappears every time he's around."

Charlotte pouted, a little childishly. "That's rather harsh." She met Hermione's eyes evenly. "You know, it was mostly Jason's idea," she said, frowning. She saw from the look on the Gryffindor's face that she didn't buy that. The younger girl nodded, relenting and understanding why Hermione was upset with what had happened. "Anyways, my father gave him _hell_."

"And what happened to you?"

"Nothing, actually. I suppose my father figured that fractured bones and having to spend summer with my right arm in a sling with an ugly gash down my face was punishment enough. I hit the ground quite hard…"

"Charlotte - " Hermione started before a flash to the right caught her eye. She quickly got up and covered her mouth to keep from screaming before scrambling to the figure who'd just appeared, sprawled on the infirmary floor, bleeding to death. She gasped and paled, seeing that it was Snape.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked, getting out of bed. She saw that it was Snape and her heart started racing. As soon as she stood up, a wave of nausea hit her and she sat back down, closing her eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey! Help!" Hermione screamed, dropping to her knees beside him and quickly looking him over for signs of the Cruciatus, and checking for broken bones and checking his pulse. She found a few echoes of the curse, and cast the spell to calm his nerves, which would have to hold until she can run and get him a potion to help him throw it off. Then, when a spell revealed that there were fractures on the back of his skull, she let out a soft, "Oh no…" So the blood that was surrounding his head like a gruesome halo was coming from a wound at the back – she couldn't move him then. She briefly wondered what may have happened to him when she suddenly took in his long robes and the flash of silver in his hand. He'd just returned from a meeting – this thought invoked moistness in her eyes. Trying not to cry, she went back to checking his pulse – there was none. "Madam Pomfrey!" she yelled again. _Where was she?!_

Hermione turned back to Snape. Desperate times… She pinched his nose and pulled his jaw down to open his mouth. 'Please let this work…' She bent over him, her hair falling in rivulets of curls around them, and onto the floor, grazing his blood, but she didn't take any notice and started CPR. Making a tight seal around his mouth with her mouth, she breathed into him twice before pulling away and closing his mouth again. He still wasn't breathing, so she placed both hands over chest and started pumping. Around the seventh pump, she heard something.

She suddenly heard a low groan and turned back to the Potions Master, to see that he seemed to be stirring. "Professor…" she whispered, placing two fingers over the spot on his neck to check his pulse. It was barely there… And so slow, she may have imagined it.

Snape managed to open his eyes a bit, and his vision blurred but there was no mistaking the chestnut ringlet that had fallen over his saviour's shoulder and was currently hanging in front of his face.

To Hermione's shock, he reached out and tugged it before giving her a rather sardonic smirk. "Grange… Granger…" he managed to mutter.

She managed a smile through her tears. He could be in pain, lying in a pool of his own blood, inches away from death, and she could still count on him to be a sarcastic arse. "It's okay, Professor, you'll be alright," she stuttered, looking around for Madam Pomfrey.

Snape let out a snort and looked at her. "Not likely…" he muttered before turning away and closing his eyes against a sudden throb in his head.

Hermione ignored him and finally spotted Pomfrey coming in through the door. The woman ran to his side and started casting numerous spells on him. The next fifteen minutes were an absolute blur to her, but she remembered helping the nurse get Snape into the bed beside Charlotte's and trying feverishly to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness and failing. More spells, blue lights, and white flashes… And then, "That's it," Pomfrey said, defeated. "It's up to him now." She turned and caught the look on Hermione's face. "Don't worry about it, dear; he's pulled through worse before."

Hermione nodded and went back to sit between Charlotte's bed and Snape's. Casting a worried glance at him, she turned back to Charlotte, who was lying down again. "What happened to you?" she asked the girl.

Charlotte was staring at Snape. "I guess I stood up too fast."

"Oh," Hermione mumbled. She tucked her legs beneath her on the chair and made herself as comfortable as she could. "So, I guess you'll be missing your lessons for tonight."

Charlotte gave her a wry smile. "But, it's Saturday."

"I don't think Professor Snape believes in the weekend," Hermione said. She glanced at him.

Charlotte looked at his sleeping profile. "What happened to him?"

Hermione frowned at this question. It was simple enough, but was so weighted… If Charlotte was from the future, shouldn't she be able to piece together what happened? Or will Snape still be living the life of a spy in her time? The thought made stomach turn on itself. "He's just had an accident," she heard herself saying. "He'll be fine."

Charlotte looked at Hermione and frowned. "I hate it when you say that," she grumbled. "It makes me feel like a child."

Hermione turned to her in surprise. "Excuse me? I've said that to you before?"

Charlotte looked at her and blinked. "Oh… I must have had déjà vu," she mumbled, apologetically, looking around. She turned back to Hermione. "But this wasn't an accident, was it?" Hermione didn't answer, but only looked away. Charlotte tried a different route. "This wasn't the first time, was it?" Hermione whipped around to face her in surprise. "You knew what you were doing when he appeared. You didn't run for Madam Pomfrey right away… Besides, most people would have checked a person's pulse before looking for the effects of the Cruciatus, not the other way around." She looked to Snape, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. "This has happened before, hasn't it?"

"Don't ask questions, Charlotte, I don't want to talk about it," Hermione mumbled, massaging her temple. She suddenly looked very tired.

"A great way to be spending a Saturday, isn't it?" Charlotte asked with a wry smile.

Hermione smiled. "I'd probably be curled up in bed or at the library, reading."

"Why don't you?"

"I probably shouldn't leave him. Something might happen while nobody's watching. Besides, he'll want to snark at someone when he wakes up." Hermione looked at Charlotte. "I probably shouldn't leave you, either. As long as your legs are working, you'll try to escape."

Charlotte shrugged. "I'm hurt by your lack of trust in me." She gestured at her book bag. "If you're bored, you can always do my homework."

Hermione snorted, but picked up her bag anyways and started rummaging through it. "Maybe there's something in here I can read…"

"It's all Sixth year stuff," Charlotte pointed out with a frown.

"Well, you - " Hermione's eyes suddenly lit up and she pulled out a chocolate brown book with a spider on its cover. "I love this book," she said, holding it up. "E.B. White is brilliant."

"_Charlotte's Web_?" Charlotte asked. "You read novels?"

Hermione nodded, happily, looking the book over. "Where did you get this? I'd have doubted anyone in the Wizarding World would have it."

"My mother's muggleborn," Charlotte said. "It's one of the first she started reading to me."

"It's a great book to start children on," Hermione said. "But, I keep going back to it when I have problems even now. I love it because it is so inspirational…"

"Inspirational?"

Hermione nodded. "Wilbur has all the odds against him. He's a pig, born as the runt of the litter, and he's about to die. He's saved just so that he could get killed later on for Christmas. Every human who owns him and his life decide that he's a dead pig. Ever since he was born, it's decided that his fate is to die. But he beats the odds." She paused. "Well, maybe it's more like _Charlotte_ beats the odds. Wilbur was basically crying and drowning in his own misery before she came along and changed his life. Even though the odds are so high against her and Wilbur, she manages to save him from a cruel fate. I mean, a spider saving a pig from a bunch of humans? Charlotte, a spider, can't win against the world – it's unheard of. But, she does." She gently touched the picture of the spider on the cover. "It's a reminder that you control your own life and your fate. That anything can happen."

Charlotte nodded and yawned. "Deep." She paused. "I like it because the spider has my name."

Hermione laughed and opened it. "_Chapter 1: Before Breakfast_," she started reading. "_"Where's papa going with that ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast…"_

Charlotte cuddled down beneath the sheets and started listening. Soon she drifted to sleep, the familiar words of Charlotte's Web echoing through her head.

xXxXx

"This has to stop," Charlotte heard a woman say.

Charlotte's eyes opened the tiniest bit and she turned to her right. But the light was too bright and she shut them again.

"It'll stop when it does," a low, masculine voice replied.

"No," the first voice responded. "You should stop." Another pause. "I can't take this anymore – there must be a better way."

"There isn't."

Charlotte quickly placed the voices as her parents. What… Was she home? She tried to open her eyes again.

"It's dangerous," her mother said quietly.

"I know," her father sounded irritated.

"I was here, but…" Her mother's next words were too quiet to be audible to her… Or maybe she couldn't hear because of that wooshing sound… Why couldn't she open her eyes?

She suddenly saw a bright blue potion hitting the floor… Stumbling back, shutting doors…

Was she dreaming?

xXxXx

"I know," Snape said, thoroughly annoyed.

Hermione finished looking him over for any remnants of the previous Cruciatus curse. It seemed it was all gone. She looked at him. "I was here, but…" She glanced at the girl in the next bed, but didn't catch the change in her expression in her sleep. "I was busy with Charlotte. Madam Pomfrey was gone. What if you get hurt and neither of us is here?"

Snape didn't have an answer for this (not that he believed he owed this insufferable woman an answer), but was saved from having to agree with her when a sudden movement came from the next bed.

Hermione swiveled around and Snape looked around her. Charlotte was sitting up, staring ahead with wide eyes.

Hermione took a step toward her. "Charlotte?" she asked, touching the girl's shoulder.

Charlotte looked up at the older girl. "I… I remember," she said.

Hermione glanced at Snape, who was looking at Charlotte, anxiously. She sat down on the edge of Charlotte's bed. "Remember what, Charlotte?"

Snape turned to the fireplace and used a bit of wandless magic to get floo powder into the flames. "Headmaster!" he barked. "Infirmary, _now_!"

Dumbledore stepped through the flames. His confused face lit up when he saw Snape. "Severus, you're awake!" he exclaimed.

"The girl, Headmaster," Snape said, nodding toward Charlotte.

Dumbledore walked up to the foot of Snape's bed and looked at Charlotte. "What is it?"

Charlotte looked at the three people around her and gripped Hermione's hand. "I remember how I came back here," she said.

xXxXxXx

A/N That was quite lengthy. Sorry for the long wait. I swear, Chapter 8 will be up in four days, maximum!

Steffie gee- Would love to email you, sweetheart, but I really don't know your address…

luv

Creatress

Next chapter:

- The story of how Charlotte fell into the past.

- What's so special about her watch.

- A major surprise twist that NO ONE saw coming…


	8. Making Thread

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Lotsa surprises in this chapter...

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 8 – Making Thread

"Elizabeth!" Charlotte screeched. She tried to get up, but got tangled in her wet sheets. "What the hell - ?!"

Elizabeth, who'd magicked a gallon of ice cold water all over her sleeping friend, stood unfazed at the foot of the bed. "I'd been trying to get you up for the last fifteen minutes," she said. She waved a rolled parchment at her. "An owl just dropped this for you. Hurry. Come on, we have to meet the others."

Charlotte glared at Elizabeth as she got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. "If I catch pneumonia and die, I'm coming after you," she growled, taking the letter.

"You would have come after me if I'd allowed you to sleep through today," Elizabeth shot back, magically drying and making Charlotte's bed. "One of these days, I'm charming an alarm clock to work inside this castle."

Charlotte ignored her last comment as she read the letter. "It's from my father…" she said.

"What's it say?" Elizabeth asked.

Charlotte frowned as she read on. "Same old, same old… Study, study, study, get good grades. Disownment threats… Oh, I won't be hearing from my parents for a while."

"Why?"

"Apparently… He just finished a large order of Evanesce potions for the ministry. He's done it, even made some extra, but exhausted himself doing it, so my mother's insisting they spend the rest of the week at my grandparents' cottage. So that he can relax." She looked up. "You think my mother's just trying to relieve the daily threat of disownment so that I can study in peace?"

Elizabeth smirked. "Speaking of Evanesce… You've got to look over Jason's Evanesce potion before he submits it."

Charlotte just rolled her eyes. "I think I'll throw some crap into it just to sabotage him," she frowned.

"Charlotte, be nice. This is going toward his OWL – if he fails this, he fails the cour - "

"Okay, okay. Nobody's going to be mean to your dear little friend," Charlotte said. "It just seems stupid that I have to look over an invisibility potion. I mean, why not just take it and cast a disillusionment charm on yourself?" She shook her head in irritation and went into the washroom. She came out about fifteen minutes later, clad in her uniform and running a brush through her hair.

"Rosa just sent me a note telling us to get to that tree with the broken branch in the Forbidden Forest, ASAP," Elizabeth said.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked, throwing her brush into on her bed and picking up her cloak and book bag.

"I don't know, it sounded urgent," Elizabeth replied as they walked out of the dorms and through common room.

As soon as they left, they almost bumped into a girl with tanned skin and long black hair. She was tapping her foot and fidgeting nervously with her yellow scarf. When she saw them, her dark eyes narrowed to a glare. "Where were you guys?!" she demanded. "Come on," she said, starting to almost jog to the exit.

"Calm down, Rosa, we're here now," Elizabeth said, almost running to keep up.

"What did you do?" Charlotte smirked.

Rosa's lip quirked. "Dante, Daphne and I went into the Forest this morning to gather Phiodel herbs for our extra credit project – we're making a healing draught – and you'll never guess what we found!" In her excitement, she'd broken into a run and her friends hurried to follow. They were just passing the DADA room, when -

"_Girls!"_

Rosa and Elizabeth froze and turned to find McGonagall glaring at them, but Charlotte, unfortunately, tripped over an uneven stone in the floor and stumbled into a wall. "Ow," she hissed, massaging her left arm. With a sheepish expression, she rejoined her friends.

"Don't run in the halls," McGonagall said with a pointed look at Charlotte. She frowned at the uneven stone. "I've been talking to Albus about that stone for years…" She then looked at Rosa. "Is something the matter, Ms. Longbottom?"

Charlotte turned to look at Rosa, who was still fidgeting nervously. "No," the Hufflepuff said.

McGonagall turned to Charlotte and looked like she wanted to say something, but then shook her head and turned to leave. Rosa bolted as soon the deputy headmistress had turned.

"Rosa, what the hell - ?" Charlotte asked.

Now having left the castle, the girls broke out into a full sprint across the grounds.

"This better be good!" Elizabeth panted.

Rosa didn't reply and simply ran into the woods, followed by her friends. When they reached their destination, the two Ravenclaws' mouths dropped open.

"Oh, by God, it _exists_," Elizabeth breathed, as she and Charlotte took in the sight before them.

"Damn straight, now come help us control it!" Dante snapped.

Dante and Daphne stood in a clearing amongst the trees, fighting with a well-known legend – a banged up, baby blue car. The car, as it were, didn't seem quite pleased with the girls as it was bouncing here and there, trying to escape. Charlotte, Rosa and Elizabeth rushed forward to help, and after about an hour of struggling, got it to hold still.

"Have you flown it?" Elizabeth asked.

"No," Daphne said. She gently touched its hood in what was supposed to be a soothing pat.

Dante, who'd collapsed in the grass in a spot of sunlight that brought out the red tinge in her black hair, sat up with a wide grin. "Wait until I write my parents about this," she said.

Daphne laughed. "Damn, I can't believe they weren't kidding," she said.

"Who wants to fly it?" Elizabeth asked. "Can I fly it?" She blinked under the incredulous looks her friends gave her. "What?"

"Americans," Daphne mumbled.

Dante smirked. "So there might be a safety hazard. Whatever. I'll come with you, Elizabeth. If we die, we'll live on in spirit." She got up.

"And the rest of us will be arrested for assisting suicide," Rosa added.

"Nah. We'll just disillusion their dead bodies, release the car back into the woods and go on as if nothing happened. They won't catch us," Charlotte assured. She turned to Elizabeth and Dante. "Go for it."

Elizabeth, however, was looking at Charlotte with wide eyes. "When were you supposed to meet Jason to look over his potion?"

Charlotte turned to her watch and a look of surprise shot across her face. "Oh, no…" she moaned. Elizabeth had gotten her the watch sixteenth birthday. It was slim, and made out of black metal. Most importantly, it had an alarm function (which Charlotte claimed didn't work). Now, however, there was a deep crack, running across the glass face and parts of the black metal seemed a little bent. The hands had stopped.

"Oh…" Elizabeth intoned, looking at it. "Dang…"

"You must've broken it when you hit the wall," Rosa said. "Sorry, Charlotte."

Charlotte took it off and turned to Elizabeth. "We can get it fixed, right?" she asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "Of course," she said, taking it. "You should go meet Jason now. We'll see what we can do here."

Charlotte grinned at her, and left, stopping to wave over her shoulder when Daphne called out "Bye!"

Charlotte reached the students' labs, fifteen minutes late. When she got there, she stopped short. Jason, the fifth year curse upon mankind, was bent over a cauldron of his light blue potion. He was across the table from God's gift to the world, the one and only Tom Elder. She froze and then frowned at her own immaturity, and forced herself to act cool. "Hey," she said.

Both Slytherins looked up, one scowling at her and the other one smirking. "Sleeping Beauty finally woke up," Tom said, teasingly, turning back to the Evanesce.

Jason looked like he wanted to make a remark along the lines of "Oh, so you've kissed her?" but decided against it – Tom was helping him, after all. Instead, he turned to glower at Charlotte.

"Umm…" Charlotte mumbled, not quite knowing how to respond. "How's the Evanesce?"

"So far, so good," Tom said. He glanced at Jason. "It's passable…"

"Passable?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it?"

Tom turned back to the potion and swirled it once with his stirring rod. He frowned.

"The thickness is off," Charlotte said and Tom nodded.

"Because it's not as thick as you," Jason grumbled.

Charlotte frowned and smacked him once on the back of his head. "It's too watery."

"You're too watery!" Jason snapped.

"What? You make no sense!" Charlotte snapped back.

"Why should I?! You don't," Jason snarled.

Tom sat silently, trying not to be noticed. Unfortunately for him, his friends turned to him.

"Tom, tell him it's too watery," Charlotte said.

Tom started and turned to nod at Jason. "Yes. Watery."

Jason looked at him with a sober expression and ran a hand through his brown hair. "I know… But I could have sworn it was fine last night. What should I do?"

Tom drummed his fingers against the table as he thought, but came up with nothing. "When they're testing you, take it and then cast a disillusionment charm on yourself," he said, sarcastically, frowning at the cauldron. He hated looking dumb in front of Charlotte.

"It should still work, just not properly," Charlotte said. "You should still be able to get a B on it."

Jason frowned at her. "You would just _love_ that, wouldn't you?" He then cringed when Charlotte smacked him again.

"Perhaps we can add Bubotuber puss and cast a neutralizing charm on it," she said, nevertheless.

"I'll get the Bubotuber puss," Tom said, wanting to escape the scene even if for a second. When he got the vial from the other end of the room and returned, Charlotte and Jason were still glaring at each other. "Okay…" he said, getting their attention. "There's only a bit left, so we'll have to be careful. Charlotte, start mixing the Evanesce, please? I'll pour it in."

"What?" Jason asked. "She'll mess it up."

"Will not," Charlotte muttered, picking up a stirring rod.

"Will too," Jason grumbled. "Ten galleons say you'll mess it up somehow."

Tom sighed. "Jason." He turned to Charlotte. "Ready?" he asked. Charlotte nodded and he picked up the cauldron and started pouring the puss in.

Jason, watching the two, got a devilish idea just as Tom started tipping the vial of Bubotuber over. Not fully thinking about it, he leaned a bit closer to Charlotte with a devilish smirk. "Tom likes you," he said.

Jason's statement got the desired effect when Charlotte started and let the rod slip from her fingers in shock. However, the expression of glee on his on his face turned to one of horror, when Tom, who was utterly horrified at what Jason had just revealed, accidentally spilled too much of the puss into the cauldron.

Surprisingly enough, there was no explosion; only a sudden grayish cloud over the Evanesce and many wet splashes as the baby blue potion flew out of the cauldron and hit the table and the floor.

For a second, the three of them said nothing and stared at the baby blue liquid that was all over them. And then, Jason visibly paled. "Oh… _Bugger_."

Tom turned to Jason, seemingly calm, but the intent to kill was clear in his dark eyes. "You're a dead man," he stated.

"Shut up, Tom!" Jason snapped. "What the hell am I going to do? This thing takes four days to make!"

Tom and Charlotte, realizing the magnitude of the situation, looked at the wet work bench. However, Tom, being Slytherin, was rather selfish and tended to look at his problems first. He looked up at Charlotte. "So… What do you think?"

Jason, also Slytherin, had the same selfishness. Before Charlotte could answer, he cut in. "She's in love with you. Now, fix my problem!"

"Jason!" Charlotte snapped. She smacked him again and he swatted her back.

"Honestly, I've got to get to DADA in ten minutes," Jason said. "Charlotte, _please_."

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" Charlotte scowled. She sighed when she saw the helplessness in Jason's dark eyes. "Okay, I'll take care of it," she said, her expression softening.

"How?" Tom and Jason asked.

Charlotte chewed a bit on her lower lip. Her father's letter came to mind. "Well… I know there's some Evanesce lying around in our empty house right now…"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to go about getting it?"

Charlotte sighed, not believing that she was thinking what she was thinking. "My friends… Found that car in the Forbidden Forest…" Tom's jaw dropped a bit.

"Why don't you just take a broom?" Jason asked.

Charlotte suddenly thought that Jason must be really worried if he wasn't concerned about them having found the legendary car.

"We have to go and get back before second period – that's in two hours. If we go that fast on a broom, the wind would kill us. We'd need something with a windshield," Tom said.

"Ok, great. Go," Jason said.

Charlotte looked at Tom. "'We?' You're coming with me?"

"No, I'm going to let you fly a car and break a million school rules all by yourself," Tom said.

"Oh, how romantic," Jason said, deadpan. "Now, get going."

Charlotte looked at her left wrist. "My watch broke. How will I know how much time we've got?"

Jason sighed in exasperation. In one swift movement, he'd taken off his large, silver watch and slapped it around Charlotte's wrist. "Take care of it. It is very important to me," Jason said, fastening it.

"When did you get this?" Charlotte asked, examining it.

Jason looked at her in disbelief. "My last birthday!" he said.

Charlotte shrugged, frowning at him. "Well, excuse me if I don't keep track of everything you wear." She waved her hand a bit and saw that the watch was loose enough to slide, but not slide off her hand. "Okay. Let's go."

Jason looked at her for a second. "Thank you," he said, looking a little sour at having to say that to her. He picked up his book bag and with one final look at them, left the lab.

"Aww," Tom crooned. "How sweet. You actually do care about him." The look on Charlotte's face made him drop it and he uncomfortably turned away. Whether Charlotte cared about Jason or not, the little bugger was a dead man.

xXxXxXx

Charlotte's friends were still a little disbelieving when Charlotte and Tom had settled into the front seats.

"You can't be bloody serious," Rosa said, shaking her head.

"You're going to get yourself killed," Elizabeth said.

Charlotte glanced at her from the driver's seat. "Two seconds ago, you were all for flying this thing!"

"Not half way across England!" Elizabeth retorted.

Daphne frowned. "You might get Jason expelled if they find out," she said.

"Jason'll be killed if he gets fails his OWLs. So, in a way, we're really saving his life," Charlotte said.

"I never knew I cared for him so much," Tom put in from the passenger's seat.

"You're going to get yourselves expelled if someone finds out you helped him cheat," Rosa said, exasperated.

Tom looked at her. "Well, our parents would kill us if we get expelled, so our deaths would be on all your heads if you tell anyone."

"You are an idiot," Daphne hissed at her cousin. She turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte, don't do it. Let Jason deal with it himself."

"No, it my idea to add the Bubotuber Puss," Charlotte said. "It blew up as soon as it touched the Evanesce. Jason'll be killed if he gets expelled, and if he gets expelled, it'll be because of me." She turned and gripped the wheel. "The guilt would kill me."

Daphne threw up her arms in exasperation and left to go stand next to Rosa and frown disapprovingly at them.

Dante was frowning at them. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

"No, you stay here, I don't want to drag more people into this than I have to," Charlotte said.

Dante only shrugged. "Good luck, guys. Don't get killed."

Elizabeth was giving them an even stare.

"We promise to be careful, Mommy," Tom said sarcastically. The look Elizabeth threw him made him shut up.

Elizabeth turned to Charlotte and slumped in defeat. "Be careful, Charlie…" she said, reverting to her nickname for Charlotte.

Charlotte smiled at her for her support. "Alright, Lizzie, I will."

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, you won't. You're going to trip into something or crash into something or do _something_ stupid and earn a few days in a coma in the Hospital Wing." She paused and sighed in defeat. "I'll be there when you wake up." She frowned. "You suck." Shaking her head in fond exasperation, she rejoined the rest of their friends to wait for the take-off.

"Okay…" Charlotte mumbled. She positioned her foot over the accelerator. "I think my grandfather pushes on this to make it gooooooooooooooooo - !!" The car was suddenly airborne.

"Which way to Zeus Road?" Tom asked, looking down. He saw that he couldn't even their friends anymore; they'd gotten so high up.

"I'm going to follow the train tracks to King's Cross and figure it out from there," Charlotte said, glancing around. They were so high up, the world spread beneath them. The aqua blue skies, spotted with tufts of white, seemed to go on forever. She sighed a little, feeling completely relaxed.

"How long do you think we'll need?" Tom asked.

Charlotte shrugged. "I just hope the car can fly faster than the train…"

"Don't worry, we seem to be going fast enough," Tom said. Charlotte nodded and then there was silence for a moment. "Charlotte…" he mumbled.

Charlotte glanced at him. "Yes, Tom?"

"Umm… After exams are over…" he started mumbling.

Charlotte's heart pounded loudly against her chest. She gulped and turned to him, but quickly relaxed again when she saw that he looked as nervous as she was feeling. He was slumped over, frowning at his gold and black ring as he played with it. She almost wanted to laugh at this, but bit her lip and turned to stare ahead again. "After the exams are over…" she prodded.

"Would you like to…" Tom trailed off. "Go somewhere?"

Charlotte glanced at him. "Go where?"

"Like… Just… Somewhere?" Tom asked.

Charlotte glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Mr. Elder, did you just ask me out on a date?"

Tom shrugged. "Would you say yes if I did?"

"Maybe I would," Charlotte said, playfully.

"Then maybe I did," Tom said.

"Then maybe I've said yes."

"Then maybe I'm happy."

"Then maybe I am, too."

"Then maybe I'm excited."

"I'm not."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know – I just got tired of _maybe_." She smirked at the look on his face.

Tom frowned, deadpan. "Well, maybe there's King's Cross."

Charlotte looked down. "Wow. That was quick… Okay, our neighbourhood is that way, right?" she guessed. Tom nodded his accord, so she turned and started driving.

"Your parents are at work?" Tom asked.

"No, they're taking a vacation right now," Charlotte said. She frowned. "But, I think you should stand guard outside."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I just feel a little uncomfortable."

"About breaking into your own house?"

"I have a spare key. I'm just a little uncomfortable with my parents being away. It was so sudden… But, I suppose my father's been working hard…"

Tom glanced at her. "What are you planning to do?"

Charlotte thought for a second. "The Evanesce is probably in my father's lab, which takes up the whole basement. There's only one little window down there. At the side of the house, there's a little window at the bottom, only about a foot in length and half a foot in height. You can stand outside beside it and warn me through it if someone comes in - " She paused, her eyes widening. "Today's Tuesday! Betsy and Trista come every Tuesday to clean and shop!"

"The maid service?" Tom frowned. "Cleans and shops?"

"Well, my mother's just too busy to clean the whole house herself." Charlotte frowned. "Between working at St. Mungo's, writing her new book and helping my father, she has a lot to do. As far as shopping for normal household supplies goes – hell, the only time she shops is during Christmas and at the beginning of September for school supplies. She'd rather just write out a list of what she needs and let Betsy and Trista scour Diagon Alley for her."

"So that's who I'm watching out for?"

"Yes, if you see two witches, one blonde and the other brunette, just yell and I'll hide. I'll just go down into my father's lab, grab the Evanesce and we're good to go."

Tom nodded and then sat up. "There," he said, pointing.

Charlotte looked, and broke out into a smile as the familiar row of houses on Zeus Road appeared. "Now… How do we land this?" She steered the car toward 115 Zeus Road, and shifted her foot to the brake when they were flying over the back yard of the white tree-story house. She experimentally gave it a little push and the car slowed down and started to gently drop. Charlotte grinned at her success.

"That was lucky," Tom remarked.

Charlotte nodded and let out the breath she'd been holding when the cars tires touched the grass. She got out and took a few seconds to take in the signs of spring – new baby grass, a few blossoms, birds chirping…

"Come on, let's go," Tom said. He was already jogging to the side of her house.

Charlotte followed him and saw that he'd stopped beside a large elm tree and was staring up at her bedroom window. "Remember when we thought you could jump to the tree and climb down?" he asked with a soft smile.

"Don't remind me," Charlotte said, though smiling. She walked on and stopped. "Here's the window," she said, getting down on a knee. She reached into her book bag and pulled out her wand. "Alohomora." The glass slid open. She briefly glanced into her father's lab. The little amount of light streaming from the small window did little to light up the big room. She could make out the outlines of workbenches, cauldrons, testing tubes, flasks, desks, shelves… She turned to Tom. "Stay here," she said. He nodded and she got up to go to the front door.

Hoping nobody would see her, she reached into her book bag once more and pulled out her key. She didn't know why she took it to school with her every year, but, better safe than sorry… And it's always good to be prepared when breaking a thousand rules in two hours. She slid the key into the lock and opened the door. Closing it behind her, she quickly went through the front hallway, feeling strangely out of place.

She finally appeared at the door that led to her father's labs. This was the hard part… According to her mother, his wards were easy enough to break through that a twelve-year-old could do it. Charlotte often wondered what she meant, but whenever she questioned her mother, the woman just told her not to mind it and never to do something as illegal as breaking into people's private rooms. As she took her wand into her hand, her heart started racing.

She was mad for doing this – absolutely mad! Maybe she was mad; nobody else in this situation would be this calm. 'How could I have been so stupid?!' rang out in her mind. She pushed this train of thought aside and thought of Latin words for 'open.' She lifted her wand to the door and tapped it softly, whispering "Patefacio" to bring down the securities guarding the room. Had anyone ever attempted this before? She wondered vaguely. The wards didn't come down. Another tap and "Expositus" this time. The wards still didn't come down.

If she got caught… 'If I am to die before I wake…' she thought wryly. This was Jason's fault – she wouldn't have thought to add Bubotuber puss if he'd just made the Evanesce right in the first place.

She lifted her wand again. Third time's a charm… Tap and "Directus." The door swung open.

Charlotte blinked. Not even a need for a password? Her mother was right – a twelve-year-old probably could break through her father's wards. Shaking her head at her luck, she pushed the door open and stepped onto the top of the staircase that led down, closing the door behind her. She went downstairs, putting her wand away – she knew that the room was charmed so that nobody but her parents could do magic down here. She flipped the light switch on and the room flooded with bright electric light.

She started looking around, wondering where her father might keep extra Evanesce. She was about to go to a supply closet when a tube of bright blue potion caught her eye. She quickly rushed over to it. It was sitting on a workbench, a labeled neatly with "Evanesce" written in her father's scrawl on a sticker. She sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to go through the whole lab. She was just starting to take off her book bag. Now, to just put the potion away, and leave…

Suddenly, Tom's ring fell onto the table with a clattering sound. Picking it up, she whipped around to face the window, wondering why he might have thrown it to get her attention instead of simply calling to her.

Tom was gesturing wildly. Finally, he mouthed "_Hide_!" and disappeared behind the bricks of the house.

Charlotte's heart leapt to her throat. Had Betsy and Trista appeared? She started to move quickly, but two seconds later, her blood ran cold.

"You're starting to drive me insane…" That was her mother's voice.

"That's just starting now?" Charlotte's blood had been cold, now it turned to ice. Her father continued, "I would have thought I'd started driving you insane years ago…"

"What are we doing here, Severus?" her mother demanded.

"Calm yourself, woman, I just have to pick up something in the lab."

Charlotte desperately looked around. Her eyes passed over the tables, chairs, and… A wardrobe? The wardrobe was large and wooden, its open doors revealing that it had nothing inside it. It shouldn't even be there; it should be in the study, Charlotte thought vaguely. She forced herself to ignore it and kept looking, and her eyes finally rested on the tube in her hand. Invisibility Potion – the solution to all of her current problems. She pulled the cork out and took a gulp, wincing against the sour taste and waited… And waited… And waited… She looked at her hand. She was still visible. A wave of nausea went through her. Great…

Great, just great. The _one_ time her father makes a mistake…

"Directus," she suddenly heard.

Another wave of nausea… And dizziness. This feeling was so strong; she actually dropped the corrupted Evanesce and vaguely noted it smashing to the ground, blue droplets and glass shards flying everything. Hearing the door open, she gulped down the sudden sickness she felt at having to accept her hiding place. Bracing herself, drawing up every ounce of her courage to face the near future, she stumbled, almost half-drunkenly, into the wardrobe and closed its doors.

xXxXxXx

"And then I woke up here," Charlotte finished.

Dumbledore shot Snape a look. Now they knew how she'd ended up in the corridor where Hermione had found her. Charlotte had stepped into Snape's apparation wardrobe in his future lab and stayed within it during the time travel, and the wardrobe deposited her in the corridor where it was currently located.

Dumbledore turned back to her. There were still many more questions to be answered. How did a tube of Evanesce send her back to the past? How did Snape err badly enough to accidentally make a time travel potion from an invisibility potion? Why was she so afraid of going into the wardrobe in the first place? Why was it empty? Did she remember trying to apparate in it?

However, one detail of Charlotte's story, no matter how insignificant it seemed, stuck out in the Headmaster's mind. "Charlotte," he said with a frown. The other three in the room looked at him curiously. "Your watch… It belongs to… this… _Jason_?"

Charlotte nodded.

The headmaster's frown deepened. "Why does it have your father's initials on the back of it then? STS?"

Giving the headmaster a confused look, Charlotte took the watch off and looked at the back of the face. _STS_. "Severus T. Spena," she mumbled.

"See?" Dumbledore asked, frowning that she'd gotten past the "Seth" thing. He decided to ignore it however – truth be told, he hadn't put much effort into the first names. "Severus Tobias Spena."

Charlotte shook her head, gently touching the watch. "Severus Tisamenus Spena."

Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up and he looked at Snape, who only shook his head, showing that he didn't know any more than the headmaster himself did. He could not recall any Tisamenuses. The older wizard turned back to Charlotte. "May I ask who…?"

Charlotte stared at the watch for a second, and then reached into her shirt, pulling out her necklace. "This watch is broken," she mumbled. "I hit it, as well. I have the piece…" With a gentle tug, she pulled the hook off the silver chain. Positioning it against the watch, she looked at Hermione. "Can you please _reparo_ it?"

Hermione nodded before picking up her wand off Charlotte's table and casting the spell. The hook firmly attached itself next to the first S.

Charlotte looked at Dumbledore. "JSTS. Jason Severus Tisamenus Spena. My brother."

xXxXxXx

A/n

You suckers didn't see that coming!! Admit it!! And quit complaining, I gave you numerous hints –

1) Charlotte and Jason can't stand each other.

2) Yet, they're supportive when bad things happen.

3) Charlotte and Jason can't stand each other.

4) Jason has brown hair and dark eyes.

5) Charlotte and Jason can't stand each other.

6) Jason has a cruel, sarcastic streak.

7) Charlotte and Jason can't stand each other.

8) Jason has a habit of raising an eyebrow.

9) Little tidbits in Charlotte's conversation with Hermione in the last chapter that makes you go "why would Charlotte say 'we' and not 'I' here…?" Granted, they were disguised well…

Etc, etc…

Okay, calm… Lolz, really excited right now…

Next chapter:

- Severus' reaction to this new development. ("_Another_ one?!")

- Lupin's reaction to this new development. ("You'll hurt me if I congratulate you, won't you?")

- Hermione and Charlotte take a walk.

- Hermione figures out a MAJOR part of Charlotte's fear… And in doing so, figures out something about her mother.

REVIEW!!! (Plz?)

Luv

Creatress


	9. Charlotte's Fear

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long! But here it is...

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 9 - Charlotte's Fear

"Your…?" the headmaster's voice trailed off. "Brother?" A nod from Charlotte. The corner of the old man's mouth started quirking. "You have a younger brother?"

"Yes; Jason," Charlotte replied. She frowned, wondering why Dumbledore would find the information so amusing.

"There's _another_ one?!" Snape suddenly demanded, mouth agape. He ignored the disbelieving looks from Dumbledore and Hermione and stared at Charlotte as if he'd never seen her before.

Dumbledore quickly cleared his throat. "That's quite… Erm… Interesting." He stepped back and clutched Charlotte's drapes. "I'll talk to you ladies later." He swung the curtain shut before they had a chance to respond. He then gleefully turned to the Potions Master. "There's another one!" he exclaimed.

Snape scowled at him. "Why didn't you see it when you read her mind?!"

Dumbledore shrugged. "I searched for parents, teachers and friends. I didn't think to look for siblings. Besides, you hate children, or so I thought. I figured it was probably a battle for your wife to convince you to have at least one child, so why would there be two?" He suddenly smiled broadly at the younger man.

Snape eyed him warily. "What?"

Dumbledore shrugged again. "Jason Severus Tisamenus Snape. Has a ring to it," he mused.

Snape scowled, blackly. "I can't believe there's a second one…"

Dumbledore smirked. "I can. Now."

"Why?" the Potions Master asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dumbledore gestured toward the outline of Charlotte behind the curtain. "Now, because of her memory, we know you play a major role in her life. And look at her! She's a great girl, a wonderful student, perfectly healthy... She also has a brother, who also seems well. If _she_ is anything to go by, you will be happy."

Snape looked at him, deadpanned. "That is hardly any base to make judgments on." He nodded toward the curtain. "This is the same girl who decided it would be a good idea to try to make it across England in a flying car. In less than two hours, no less."

Dumbledore smiled softly. "To help a brother."

Snape scowled. "_Spare_ me."

Dumbledore's smile didn't falter, but he turned to leave. "Look on the bright side," he said, meeting Snape's eyes. "Jason's Slytherin."

Try as he might, even Severus Snape couldn't keep his lips from quirking into a slight smirk at this.

xXxXxXxXx

"There's another one," Flitwick stated.

"You two got here in mere minutes after Albus left. You truly have no lives."

Lupin's grin widened. "Jason."

Flitwick mirrored it Lupin's smile. "Jason Severus," he added.

Snape was tempted to roll his eyes, but only looked away, scowling.

Lupin shrugged, a smile still gracing his features. "You would hurt me if I tried to congratulate you, wouldn't you?"

Snape smirked. "I would." The way he looked at him then made the DADA professor think that Snape was currently fantasizing about the ways he could.

Lupin shook his head. "Fine, fine. Let's talk about your Evanesce-Turn-Time Potion."

Snape almost sighed in relief. "Finally," he muttered. His eyes narrowed. "What would make an Evanesce send a person through time?"

"Maybe you made a mistake?" Lupin suggested, with a small smirk. The glare he received from Snape then made him amend, "Maybe it was a different potion altogether and Charlotte mistook it for Evanesce?"

Snape shook his head. "She picked it up because it was labeled Evanesce." He frowned. "Perhaps… Perhaps I did err in some way..."

Flitwick suddenly snorted. When both men looked at him, he shook his head. "Not with Her-hm, ahem…" The professor was suddenly overtaken with a coughing fit and Lupin slapped his back before he cleared up. "I meant, not with your wife helping you."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Flitwick because of the mention, but Lupin looked at him carefully. "Why would you say that?"

Flitwick shrugged. "Albus said she helped you sometimes, and I just can't begin to believe that the two of you working together would make a mistake. Maybe if you were alone, maybe then, but… With _her_ helping? I mean, _she_ never seems to - " He froze when he saw the wide-eyed look Lupin was giving him. He inched away from the younger man. "Yes, Remus?" he asked.

Lupin looked at him and Flitwick could see the metaphorical muggle light bulb going on over his head. He prodded at the Charms teacher with his index finger. "You know who it is," he stated in an enlightened whisper.

Flitwick shook his head. "No!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, you do," Lupin shot back.

"No, I don't," Flitwick insisted, his eyes darting everywhere but Lupin's face.

Snape finally rolled his eyes in exasperation. Any order he could have barked to make them stop and look at things that mattered would have been lost, so he resigned to lying still and letting them fight it out.

"Drop it, Filius, you're a horrible liar," Lupin stated. "Come, just admit it. Is it Rosmerta?"

Flitwick suddenly looked at him in horror. "Merlin, NO!"

Lupin pointed a finger at him again and grinned. "Aha! So you DO know!"

Flitwick looked at him. "You are beginning sound a _lot_ like Minerva."

Lupin frowned. "I am no - " He suddenly stopped and sat down in his seat, shuddering when he realized that Flitwick was right.

Flitwick sat down as well and looked at the DADA professor. "I might have expected this behaviour from her, but never from - "

"Just tell me – what if it's relevant?" Lupin asked, turning back to him.

Flitwick looked at him. "Relevant? The only thing you need know is that she's an incredibly intelligent witch, and it's strange that both she and Severus, two of the most brilliant minds in Wizarding England, would make a mistake _together_."

Lupin looked at him. "Oh, dear Merlin, it's Minerva."

"No!" Flitwick gasped, aghast.

"Maybe after at least sixteen years with me, she's grown to hate me enough to the point of purposely sending her daughter back in time to mess everything up so that we don't become an item," Snape suddenly mused. Both men looked at him. He met their eyes evenly. "It's possible."

Lupin frowned. "It's not. As impossible as that is though - " he turned back to Flitwick – "What if there's _something_?"

Flitwick shook his head. "I promised Albus."

"Albus isn't here right now!" Lupin shot back.

Flitwick stared at him. "Wow, Minerva's really turned you…"

Lupin gave him a look and sat down, turning back to Snape. "Maybe you made a mistake with the labels," he said as if the debate with Flitwick had never occurred. "Time turning powder is bright blue, the same colour as Evanesce. Maybe you managed to make a liquid form of it and accidentally switched the labels. It seems more likely if there were two people in the lab."

Snape shrugged, glad that the conversation had veered back to the Evanesce. "I have been researching a way to compress the powder and make it more powerful… It's possible."

"It's highly unlikely," Flitwick stated. "Very highly unlikely."

"Why?" Snape asked.

Flitwick inhaled, choosing his words carefully. "There can be many areas where you could have erred. But simply mixing up the labels? I may be dulling Occam's razor, but a simple mistake of just switched labels? No. _You_ wouldn't. And _she_ always double checks her facts, and then researches, footnotes, cross references and then double checks her facts again. She'd never make a simple error like that."

Lupin whipped around to face him. "Hermione!"

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" rang back to them through the closed door Flitwick had suddenly escaped through.

Lupin turned to Snape. "What was his problem?" he asked, with a shrug. Snape also shrugged and Lupin continued. "I think it would be a _good_ _idea_ to ask Hermione." He turned and called through the curtain. "Charlotte? Hermione? May I have a word?" Only silence greeted him. Lupin glanced at Snape before cautiously drawing the curtains, but found that Charlotte's bed was empty.

"They've just checked out," Pomfrey suddenly said, appearing at the foot of Snape's bed. "What was all that racket? What was Filius yelling about?"

Lupin shrugged. "Where have they gone?" he asked, gesturing at Charlotte's bed.

"Charlotte insisted on going for a walk, so I sent Hermione to watch over her." The nurse turned and smiled gleefully at Snape. "You know, it's harder to keep her in bed than it is with you."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Hermione had popped into the Head Girl's room to pack her bag with a few empty containers before she and Charlotte set off outside. She wanted to get the task of collecting a few herbs for Snape out of the way that morning. She was just closing her door when Charlotte inhaled sharply. "Harry Potter."

Hermione turned and grinned when her friend walked up to them. "Where have you been?" she asked.

"Where have _I_ been? Where have _you_ been?" Harry retorted, smiling. He caught sight of Charlotte. "And you are…"

"Charlotte Semele Spena," Hermione answered. She looked at Charlotte and caught her look of recognition. Her mouth quirking a little, she didn't bother to introduce her friend. "She's new," she added instead.

Harry offered a hand, which Charlotte took. "I'm Harry."

Charlotte nodded, her own lips quirking. "It's nice to meet you."

Harry noticed the small movement and glanced from her to Hermione. "What?" he asked, suspiciously. "Do I have something on my teeth?" Hermione and Charlotte shook their heads, both trying to look absolutely innocent. "You're both smiling like Cheshires."

Hermione and Charlotte glanced at each other, both trying not to laugh. "It's nothing," Hermione said, shaking her head. "We've just had a funny morning."

"It's almost 8:00. What could have happened this early?" Harry asked, his eyebrows rising.

Hermione nodded. "No, it's been an… interesting… morning."

Harry shrugged. "Fine," he murmured. "I suppose I'll see you later. I'm going to meet Dumbledore for occlumency lessons."

"Well, we're going for a walk. To collect herbs and… Stuff," Hermione finished lamely.

Harry looked at her. "We haven't been seeing you much…" He smirked. "Is there some guy you're not telling us about?"

Hermione shook her head. "A _girl_, I'm not telling you about." Harry eyebrows shot up. Hermione nodded at Charlotte. "Her."

Harry disbelieving green eyes turned to Charlotte. "What… What?!" he gasped, looking between them.

Charlotte snickered a little. "She means I've been in and out of the hospital wing a lot. She's been taking care of me."

Harry playfully punched Hermione's arm. "Ah, no wonder. Doing research and planning out her life, no doubt. Keep it up, Mione." He turned to leave. "You're going to be the greatest lesbian ever!"

Hermione threw an empty container at his receding back, which he ducked before bolting. Smiling, she turned to Charlotte. "You recognized him," she stated.

Charlotte nodded. "So?" she asked, dubiously.

Hermione grinned. "Then that would mean that he's still alive, wouldn't it?"

Charlotte mirrored her grin. "Yes, he's alive and well."

Hermione looked away and started walking, but there was still a smile on her lips. "I suppose you can't tell me anything else?"

Charlotte shook her head and fell into step beside the older girl. "I don't suppose so. No." She glanced at her. "He seems to care about you."

Hermione shrugged. "We've been friends for the past seven years. He's like a little brother to me."

Charlotte nodded, but something about those words struck something in her. She didn't know what it was, but in an instant, it was gone.

"Charlotte?" Hermione asked. "Are you alright?"

Charlotte nodded quickly. "Just fine."

They made it to the exit and Hermione stepped outside and smiled. "I love morning," she mumbled, quietly. "The fresh air really wakes you up."

Charlotte grumbled beneath her breath. "I suppose so," she mumbled, trudging along behind Hermione.

Hermione laughed and looked at her. "You don't think so?"

Charlotte shook her head, a distasteful frown set across her lips. "It's a Sunday. It should be a crime to be up this early."

Hermione gave her a sideways glance. "Not a morning person, then."

"No, definitely not," Charlotte stated. "My mother says I miss the best of the day."

"Possibly because you do," Hermione put in.

Charlotte snorted. "As if. My father says the best part of the day is the night. He and I are both night owls. He's not a morning person, either. Actually, he's grumpier than me," she added with a smirk.

"You and your father are both missing out," Hermione stated. "What about your brother?"

"He's a morning person," Charlotte said, rolling her eyes. "Possibly because of years of getting up ahead of me to set up for mean pranks against me." She pouted at Hermione.

Hermione smirked, far from sympathetic. "You could have avoided them if you'd gotten up on time."

"I could have avoided them if he just slept late like normal people."

Hermione turned and studied her features curiously. "What does your brother look like?" she asked, suddenly having an unquenchable urge to know.

Charlotte shrugged. "He's taller than me, up to about… Here…" She waved her hand about half a foot above her head. "He's got brown hair and dark eyes like me. Pale skin." She frowned. "I remember he looked just like my father, except for his hair, which is shorter. He gels it to make sure it isn't as lank…" Her frown deepened. "But remembering him now, he looks like someone else. Can't quite place who, though…"

Hermione looked at her and frowned. "Jason looks like both you and your father, so you look like your father?" she asked.

Charlotte shrugged. "People tell me I look my grandmother… Except apparently she never had side bangs. But - " Here, she grinned widely at her friend and stood up straighter " – I have my mother's smile."

Hermione grinned. "That's nice."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, it's actually quite _funny_. See, my father was the first to point it out to people. And he never, EVER says things like that. I knew that even at nine or ten years old." She laughed a little. "Later, I found out that it was because…" She trailed off and gestured at her mouth. "My front teeth used to be really, _really_ big."

Hermione stopped short and looked at Charlotte in disbelief. "Oh, nooo…" She moaned, laughing. "I used to have that problem, too."

Charlotte nodded, looking sheepishly pained and laughed. "So did my mother. Which was why he compared us and everybody else quickly agreed." She nodded and smiled fondly. "So, you see, he can be quite nasty when he wants to be."

Hermione shook her head, but smiled nevertheless. "Your father's absolutely horrid."

Charlotte shrugged and smiled. "Oh, Mum and I got the last laugh in the end. You can probably tell he's not the romantic type. Finally, with Mum listening in of course, I went up to him and asked if my smile really reminded him of hers. He said yes, so I was like… 'So you would have to have _really noticed_ her smile to have remembered it all these years…'"

Hermione burst out laughing. "How did he react to that?"

"He told me to get out before he made Jason an only child," Charlotte said, matter-of-factly.

Hermione giggled. "He is horrid."

"Urgh. You don't know the half of it. Mum and Father had a huge row about the whole teeth thing. You know what he once had the nerve to do? Granted, he and my mother weren't together then, but… Still… Once, someone made my mother's teeth grow larger in a duel. Father had told her that he didn't see a difference."

Hermione stopped so suddenly that she almost fell over. She looked at Charlotte. "Excuse me?"

Charlotte turned to look at her and nodded. "True," she insisted. She took in Hermione's rigid form then. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Hermione blinked. "Yes," she said, quickly, turning away. She looked around for something else that they could talk about… Something that would put the feeling back into her body after that powerful jolt. She spotted Hagrid's hut. "Hagrid's away in France," she mumbled.

Charlotte looked at the small structure and smiled. "He'll be back," she smiled. When Hermione turned to her in surprise and happiness, she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Think before you talk, Charlotte, think, think, _think_," she admonished herself as she turned away and jogged the last remaining distance into the forest.

Hermione threw one more smile toward Hagrid's hut before following Charlotte. As she watched the brunette disappear into the trees, she suddenly thought of the girl's parents. A shiver, not an unpleasant one, she couldn't help but note, passed through her. _Coincidence_, she told herself. _I don't know a Severus or Mia. Coincidence._

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

"I can't believe you would mix up labels," Lupin muttered, for the twenty-sixth time.

Snape frowned when he realized he'd actually been counting. "No one is asking you for help," he said instead.

Lupin looked over the large pile of books they'd been going over. "I wish Hermione was here – she's probably already read at least half of them."

"No one is asking for your help," Snape muttered again.

Lupin looked at him. "But I will help you." He nodded, turning back to his book. "Because that's what friends do."

Snape harrumphed, but didn't comment.

Lupin glanced at him. "Friends should also tell friends if something's bothering them."

Snape looked him in the eye and nodded in a gesture of relenting. "I agree. Friends should tell friends if something's bothering them." He nodded toward the door. "Go get Kingsley so that I could tell him that your constant chatter is bothering me."

Lupin looked at him. "_Harsh_." Throwing the Slytherin a reproachful look, he turned back to his book. "Learning of one child sent you into conniptions. But finding another doesn't bother you at all."

"It doesn't bother me because he won't exist either."

"The watch disagrees."

"What does a ticking piece of metal know?!" Snape snapped.

Lupin looked up at him, exasperated. He started to demand why he would deny both his kids now, but decided against it, knowing it would only lead to another petty argument. He shook his head and looked at the man. "You must be curious," he said.

"Curious of what?" Snape growled, turning back to the book.

"Jason," Lupin responded. Snape looked back at him, one eyebrow propped up. "I mean, we _know_ Charlotte. It makes you wonder how a son you'd have might be like."

"I'm not curious of that. I tend to distance myself from things that would be of no importance, given their current and future non-existence."

Lupin gave him a tired, exasperated look. He looked away for a second, not bothering to comment. "Tisamenus is an interesting name," he suddenly stated. He pretended to ignore the Slytherin when Snape threw the book down in his covers, he himself exasperated now and glared at the Gryffindor. "Between Severus and Tisamenus, I would have only chosen Tisamenus… But, Jason was probably only days old when you named him, he couldn't have protested - " Lupin was abruptly cut off when Snape threw his text at his head. "For heaven's sake, Severus…" Lupin grumbled, massaging the spot on his head.

Snape met his eyes evenly. "Either shut up and start reading or get out."

Lupin shrugged. "I hope you realize that all of this is entirely your fault." At Snape's questioning look, Lupin nodded and elaborated. "This whole children and time travel business…"

"Children and time travel? In case you'd been too busy arguing with him to actually listen to what Filius had been saying, the cause of both of those problems can be entirely the fault of my…" Snape frowned a little here and trailed off.

Lupin rolled his eyes. "Wife, Severus. It has four letters, yes, but, trust me, it's not a curse word." A small smile appeared on his face and he poked at his friend. "Say it. _Wife_." The look Snape gave him then made him back off. "Either way, it can't be entirely her fault. You must accept at least partial responsibility for the problem of the _children_, if not the time travel…"

"The _problem_ of the children, Remus?"

Lupin stopped short and turned to face the headmaster. "How is it you always appear at the most inopportune moment?" He turned to see that Snape was sporting a small smirk. "You knew he was there, didn't you?" The Potions Master's smirk only turned a bit nastier. Lupin turned back to Dumbledore and tried to explain himself. "I didn't mean that. _He_ said problem… So, I said problem…"

"I understand completely, Remus," Dumbledore said, giving Snape a look. He smiled then. "However, I'll have to say you're right. Severus, she didn't make your two children by herself." Lupin gave Snape a victorious grin. Snape, for his part, only glowered at Dumbledore. The headmaster shrugged. "Of course, no one blames you," he joked. "A beautiful woman warming your bed – it would have been downright strange if you _hadn't_ - "

"That's enough!" Snape snapped. He glared at the older man. "Is this what you came here for?!"

Dumbledore rolled his eyes. "Yes, Severus, I came here for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of you."

"Done and done," Lupin muttered, eyeing the Potions Master.

Snape scowled at him before turning to Dumbledore. "What is it then?!"

"I was wondering if you'd made any progress," the headmaster replied, nodding at the books.

"Nothing," Snape muttered. He glared viciously at Lupin. "Not that we've been trying hard."

Lupin only threw him another reproachful look before innocently turning back to his book.

"Hm," Dumbledore muttered. "Well, I was wondering… Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to look around your wardrobe?"

Snape and Lupin straightened at this. "What are you thinking?" the Slytherin asked.

Dumbledore shrugged. "Maybe there's something in there."

"Charlotte said it had been bare," Lupin reminded him. He looked at Snape. "Which I find odd, by the way. Why would you have left that wardrobe bare in your labs?"

"Perhaps I was planning to stock it," Snape answered, vaguely. He turned back to Dumbledore and was about to say something when Lupin cut in.

"Before leaving on a weekend vacation?"

Snape shook his head at him. "Perhaps I'd packed everything away and planned to work during the whole event. What does it matter?!"

Lupin rolled his eyes at his friend. "You _must_ sort out your priorities."

"Either way, I believe it is best for you both to go and look at the wardrobe. Take Filius with you," Dumbledore said. He glanced around Snape's bed. "Where is he anyways?"

Lupin shrugged. "We don't know what came over him. I suggested we ask Hermione for her opinion and he went ballistic."

Dumbledore bit the inside of his cheek. "I see," he muttered, not quite understanding what would be so bad about that.

"I'm sure we can do well without her," Snape grumbled.

"Actually, I beg to differ," Dumbledore said. He waved away the look Snape shot him. "You said so yourself, Severus. The faster you get all of this sorted out, the better. And you can't get any faster without Hermione." He gave the Potions Master a stern look. "Talk to her when she comes to help you tonight."

xXxXxXxXx

"Amdiya is used for medicinal purposes. It soothes sore muscles and helps flesh repair itself. It grows in dark places, in little bushels…" Hermione explained, as they trekked through the forest.

"Dark places?" Charlotte asked, looking around. The canopies of the trees blocked out a lot of the sunlight and it was quite dim in the forest. "Is this dark enough?"

Hermione shook her head. "Hardly. I needed it last year and we – Hagrid and I – only found one place which is dark enough for it to grow." She shuddered a little. "It's a little discomforting here without him." But she smiled at Charlotte and tried to put up a brave front.

Charlotte, however, didn't buy it. The forest was getting darker and there were more and more trees as they hiked, crowding around them. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Hermione nodded. "We aren't deep enough for animals we can't handle to come at us," she said. She suddenly stopped. "There," she said, and started trotting toward her discovery.

Charlotte didn't see it at first, but squinted her eyes and made around a small cave against a low hill. It was quite small and she would have missed it if Hermione hadn't pointed it out to her. She quickened her pace and joined her friend at its entrance. Her pace quickened as she took in the shocking blackness of its mouth. The ground only a foot into it was dimly lit up – after that, there was only darkness.

Hermione took her bag off and set it down on the ground before pulling out a metal container, about the size of her forearm. "No light must touch it until it's ready. Otherwise it's useless. I'll have to feel around for it – it's a bit prickly…" she mumbled, getting down onto her knees. "Coming?" she suddenly asked Charlotte.

Charlotte stared into the small, dark cave, feeling suddenly hot and sweaty despite the coolness of the early morning and the forest. She took a deep breath. "I suppose…" she mumbled, getting down beside Hermione. "Let's go," she said, her voice a little breathy.

Hermione frowned at her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Charlotte nodded. "Yes," she answered, her voice quivering the slightest bit.

Hermione looked at her for a second. "Fine…" She mumbled, unsurely. "Let's go." She started crawling into the cave. She'd moved about a meter when she stopped and turned to see Charlotte exactly where she'd left her. "Charlotte?" she asked.

Charlotte stared into the cave, now visibly trembling. She shook her head. "No… I'm sorry, I can't," she whispered.

Hermione blinked before the wheels in her head started turning. She started placing bits of Charlotte's memories together… Her instinct to risk climbing up a long, ungrounded ladder instead of jumping into a closet when pursued by Filch… Her reluctance to hide from her father by getting into the wardrobe until she was absolutely forced to… Now the cave… "Charlotte, you have a fear of dark, confined places, don't you?"

Charlotte's only answer was to turn away from the cave.

Hermione moved and sat down beside her in the soft grass. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Charlotte. I'm just wondering…"

Charlotte inclined her head. "I have a tendency of getting uncomfortable around dark, confined places, yes."

"Everyone is afraid of something," Hermione shrugged. She frowned. "Did your boggart have something to do with this…?" she wondered.

Charlotte didn't answer, but only frowned.

"Charlotte?" Hermione asked, softly.

There was a moment of unearthly silence before Charlotte answered. "Oh…" She murmured, faintly, her eyes starting to glaze over with tears.

"What happened?" Hermione whispered.

Charlotte started quivering a little. "When I was five years old," she started. "I… My mother and I… We were playing a game…" Her voice trailed off.

"What game?" Hermione prompted.

"Hide and seek," Charlotte whispered. "Father was asleep… Mum said he'd been in an accident." Hermione suddenly remembered Charlotte catching déjà vu when she told her that Snape had just 'been in an accident.' "Jason was also asleep. He was only three," Charlotte continued. "So it was only her and I. She'd finished counting, but I still hadn't found a place to hide…" Her voice trailed off again. "I finally ran into Father's study and into that wardrobe…"

"The one that brought you here?" Hermione clarified.

Charlotte nodded. "I shut the doors… It was dark inside, everywhere. The only light was a thin vertical line… The space between the doors. I heard my mother coming past the room and I felt so proud of myself. I was never supposed to be in there. But then I got into the corner, just in case she came in…" Her voice started shaking. "All of a sudden… It… It just appeared out of nowhere…" A few tears escaped her eyes.

Hermione gulped on a sudden lump in her throat. Somehow, she knew what was about to happen… "What appeared?"

Charlotte broke down crying.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Snape and Lupin stood before the empty wardrobe. "Nothing," Snape muttered.

Lupin gently brushed his fingers across a streak of brownish red on the side wall. "Nothing except your blood," he mumbled.

Snape shrugged one shoulder and gently kicked the floor board in the corner. The back of the wardrobe disappeared and his Death Eater robes, which were messy and still a bit damp with his blood and the blood of others, came into view. "I always leave cleaning it until after getting better," he muttered, taking out his wand.

"Why don't you just let a house elf do it?" Lupin asked, feeling a lump in his throat as he took in the hanging dark robes and the stained silvery white mask propped up just under the hood, where his friend's face would be.

"Couldn't take the risk," Snape smirked, wryly. He waved the shiny black wand and the robes straightened out a bit. He looked thoughtfully at them. "A few months ago, Granger was in the infirmary when I came back. I was too weak to take them off in here and just risked a student catching me. She knew it was me, despite the mask. She said my name. For a few seconds, she was too frightened to move. After she called Poppy and they did whatever was medically necessary, Poppy left and the first thing Granger did was rip them off of me." He turned and looked at Lupin. "Is it really that frightening?"

Lupin didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes."

xXxXxXxXxXx

Hermione held Charlotte as the younger girl cried. "The doors wouldn't open… I just…" Charlotte sobbed. "Screaming for my mother…" She could see it, she remembered so clearly…

_She screamed again and again and again, as loud as her little lungs could manage. She ran out of breath and started crying in panic and fear before starting another round of screaming for help. She couldn't see in the darkness, and she couldn't move. Something moved over her mouth and muffled her cries. _

"I got tangled up in them," Charlotte recalled, shuddering at the memory, tears still falling. "I tried pulling away, but I must have made that damned mask fall…"

Hermione held her tighter, starting to feel sick.

"It fell on me and I completely lost it… I didn't understand what it was or what was happening…"

"I know…"

"They were completely wet. I can _smell_ the blood; it was everywhere…"

_Minutes or hours, she didn't know which, passed by as she clawed and fought with everything around her, trying to find an escape. Finally, through her own silent screaming and the blood pounding in her ears, she thought she heard another voice._

"My mother finally found me," Charlotte murmured. "She pulled me out of the robes and got the mask off me…"

A sudden feeling of dread suddenly washed over Hermione as she pictured what Charlotte was describing. Her heart was in her throat and she had an urge to be sick and tried to breathe deeply and hold it down.

_The darkness was suddenly broken by a dim light and she heard her mother's voice, trying to calm her down and keep her steady… She couldn't do it; her mother sounded just as hysterical as she did. She felt her mother wipe her face with something soft in quick, gentle strokes, probably trying to wipe the tears and the blood away. Finally, she gave up and simply hugged her daughter to her, holding her tightly as the girl continued to cry over what had just happened. Soon the little girl felt her hair become tousled and damp with her mother's tears._

Charlotte gasped for breath and tried to calm down against Hermione, who was holding her tightly. They sat in silence for a few moments. Charlotte suddenly let out a harsh laugh. "Clothes," she murmured. "All these years, it was just bloody clothes."

Hermione shook her head. "No," she whispered. "You didn't know…"

Charlotte pulled away from her a bit. "Why did my mother react so badly?" she whispered.

Hermione didn't have to think long to get the answer. "Think about this from your mother's perspective. The absolute worst part for her must have been throwing the wardrobe doors open to find her daughter wrapped up in those robes…" Her own voice had grown thick. "To see that mask over _your_ face…"

Charlotte let out a bitter laugh. "Never," she stated.

Hermione smiled at this.

Charlotte looked at her. "Hermione…" Her voice was a little stricken.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, feeling a little dazed.

Charlotte stared off into the trees for a while. "Maybe I was trying to repress… The fact that my father was a Death Eater."

xXxXxXxXxXx

A/N

Sorry that took so long! Don't worry, the next chapter is already under way. Please review!

Luv

Creatress

Next Chapter:

- Hermione fully understands Charlotte's fear and helps her deal with the fact that yes, her father was/is/will be a DE.

- Hermione and Snape have a long, interesting, angsty and humourous talk. Only Sev and Mione can have a talk that is both angsty and humourous at the same time.

- Lupin discovers something interesting.


	10. Congratulations, Hermione, It's a Girl

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

This chapter took forever, but it's extra long to make up for it! Enjoy!

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 10 - Congratulations, Hermione, It's a Girl

Hermione couldn't describe what she was feeling. The whole world suddenly seemed to take on a sense of surrealism. There had always been a small itch at the back of her head, but she'd never paid any attention to it. She'd barely known it was there. Maybe she was too focused on the here and now and the big picture to pull the small details of the past, the present and the future to see the truth. Little things that seemed so insignificant, that she'd brushed off with a "oh, isn't that nice," a "how quaint," and – her personal favourite, it seemed, "what a coincidence," screamed loudly at her as she actually _thought_ about them during this silent walk back to the castle. How could she not have noticed?

The world was surreal. The girl whose arm was wound firmly around hers felt surreal.

Charlotte was the daughter of a muggleborn. One who introduced her to her own favourite book, Charlotte's Web by E. B. White. Charlotte was the daughter of a healer. Charlotte had her necklace.

Hermione's gaze suddenly settled on her right shoulder, which was nestled against Charlotte's left. Charlotte's straight strands and Hermione's ringlets blended together against the black of their cloaks. Those chestnut locks, now just slightly highlighted in the sunlight with dark honey, could have come from the same head. Charlotte had Hermione's hair colour. Charlotte had told Hermione that she had her mother's hair colour.

Hermione thought of the elderly old woman at Madame Malkin's. The trip there. Hermione's clothes had fitted Charlotte perfectly. "Hush up and listen to your sister," the old woman had told Charlotte.

Hermione glanced at Charlotte and was almost struck again, as she had the first time she'd laid eyes on the younger girl, at how utterly beautiful she was and her heart skipped a beat. She quickly decided that a girl so gorgeous could not be related to her. Even as this thought settled, she started wondering exactly _what_ was so beautiful about her. She studied her for a moment, feeling lucky that Charlotte was staring blankly at the ground. However, she couldn't place anything particular about the girl that made her so special… Her slender face, curved nose, dark eyes, elegant eyebrows, long lashes… but, once again, Hermione couldn't get over how lovely Charlotte was when she simply looked at her. How _could_ she be related to her? She was not related to her. She couldn't be.

"Hermione." Ron was jogging up to them.

Charlotte looked up at him and smiled softly.

Hermione greeted him in a likewise manner, but suddenly caught sight of Charlotte's smile. She had a pretty smile. She self-consciously brought her fingers to her lips. Could those be her lips? Could that be her smile?

"Hermione?" Ron asked, coming to a stop in front of them. He glanced curiously at Charlotte and smiled. "Who's this? Please tell me it's Charlotte Spena."

"Oh, yes, Charlotte," Hermione said. "This is Ron." They shook hands and Hermione continued. "Charlotte's a transfer student."

"Hello," Charlotte said. "It's nice to meet you."

Ron looked between them before turning to Charlotte. "It's good to meet you, too. Madam Pomfrey's on the rampage, looking for you. She said you've been out too long." He gave her a sympathetic look and smiled. "Sorry. You can run and pretend you haven't seen or heard from me."

Charlotte smile widened, just a little bit. Hermione looked at her, a bit worried. She hadn't been able to do or say anything after Charlotte's revelation except to hold her while she cried. Undoubtedly, she was still trying to get over her father's… occupation, if one can call it that. "That's quite alright." She unwound her arm from Hermione's. "I'd better get back to her. I'll see you later, Hermione?" she asked.

Hermione nodded and managed a smile. "Of course."

Charlotte cast another smile at Ron and left. Ron glanced after her before turning to Hermione and fixing her with a serious gaze. "It's Sunday. No library," he stated.

Hermione's lip quirked the slightest bit. Something occurred to her. "Do you know a Mia? In our year? Maybe sixth? Or just graduated last year?"

Ron shook his head and they started walking back to the castle. "No. Why do you ask?"

Hermione shrugged. "Never mind."

Ron looked at Charlotte's retreating figure. "So, I hear she has a freak boggart?" he asked.

Hermione followed his gaze and frowned. "Look away, Ronald. Look far away. You won't even be flirting with her."

Ron turned to Hermione, eyebrows raised. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you flirt with every pretty girl you see and she's beautiful." _And if she were related to me, where does she get it? _She added, internally. Her treacherous mind answered in a rather snide tone. _From her father. Or maybe your own mother – she's pretty._

Ron looked curiously at Hermione. "Are you… Going lesbian? Harry joked to me, but now, I'm thinking…" Hermione stopped and looked at him with a curious gaze. Ron glanced at Charlotte just as she entered the castle and disappeared behind the closing door. "She's pretty, granted. But she's not beautiful like Rosmerta." He paused. "Did you know Rosmerta's told me start using her given name?" he added with a dopey grin.

Hermione glanced at him and smirked. "That's great, Ron."

Ron smiled. "I think my mother would be a bit disappointed, though."

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked, as they entered the castle.

"I think she was hoping that we would… Umm… You know."

"Did you tell her how awkward it was?" Hermione smirked.

Ron nodded. "That, and I don't think she would approve… Rosmerta's older and she works at a pub."

Hermione rolled her eyes and kept herself from pointing out that he hadn't even asked Rosmerta out yet. "I'm sure it will be okay if you show your mother you're both in love."

Ron grinned, his eyes taking on a far away look. "She's so pretty. Every time I see her, I just want to - " His face took on a leer and Hermione waved a hand in front of him.

"Don't, Ron," Hermione said with a frown. "I'm going to the library. I suppose you'll be going to the Three Broomsticks?"

Ron grinned again and waved as he left. "Have fun."

Hermione smiled after him. Her smile quickly disappeared as she made her way toward the library, and then changed destination. There was one specific book she had in mind. She quickly appeared before Professor McGonagall's office and knocked, sounding a bit impatient.

McGonagall opened the door quickly, almost as if she'd been waiting. "Come in, come in," she said. "Sit."

Hermione perched down on one of the chairs across McGonagall's desk and the deputy headmistress sat across from her and smiled, like, of course, a Cheshire. "Sorry to bother you on a Sunday morning - "

"Every time I see you, I want to hug you," McGonagall cut in, her smile widening.

Hermione took notice of her smile and grew a bit wary. "Professor?"

"When Albus told me you figured out that Charlotte was from the future," McGonagall threw her arms up. "I wanted to brag to Snape so badly that - "

"That such a student belongs to our House." Both women looked up from the table to see Dumbledore step away from the fireplace, its flames flashing green behind him.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him. "Albus?"

"Minerva," Dumbledore threw back, just a bit cuttingly as he sat down next to Hermione. "It's good to see you, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, but backed away as much as the chair would allow. They were both bothering her, and she didn't know why, but she was extremely disturbed by the way they were both acting.

"What are you doing, Albus?" McGonagall asked, her eyes narrowing at him and she looked between the two of them.

Hermione looked at the expression on her face and suddenly thought of a lioness, angry that another predator had taken away her kill.

Dumbledore smiled easily at the deputy headmistress. "I was hoping I could have a few minutes alone with Miss Granger before you endeavor to convince her to join your ranks."

McGonagall snarled at him. "I'm afraid you may not."

Hermione looked between them. "What ranks?" she asked.

The head of Gryffindor turned to her and smiled. "Well, dear, now that you know all about Charlotte, I was hoping you can help Professor Lupin and me with something."

"Minerva, I must insist you stop talking," Dumbledore said, voice stern. "She doesn't know _all_ about Charlotte."

Hermione turned to him now. "Sir?"

McGonagall, absolutely refusing to leave, sat still and folded her arms over her chest.

Dumbledore outright glared at her. "A mere minute, Minerva. Don't make me do something I may regret."

"What will you do, Albus? Throw a lemon drop at me?" McGonagall sniffed. She turned to Hermione.

"Don't listen to her, Hermione, she's an old woman with horrid judgment," Dumbledore muttered.

Hermione looked from one professor to another, growing a bit impatient.

"I have excellent judgment!" McGonagall retorted.

Dumbledore snorted. "Remember your fifth year?" he said simply to Hermione. Hermione could only look away from McGonagall to keep from having to agree with Dumbledore.

McGonagall tried a different tactic. "You're quite close to Remus, aren't you? Friends outside school? Helping Sirius? Helping him with Tonks? Brewing Wolfsbane for him now? I approached him with the inappropriateness, because he's a professor and you're a student - " Dumbledore coughed loudly here, but McGonagall paid him no mind. " – he told me that you're like a little sister he's never had." McGonagall plunged ahead, not giving Hermione a chance to interrupt with the "Oh, that's so sweet" look on her face. "Even _Remus_ agrees with me when I say I think it's a good idea to determine the identity of Charlotte Sn - "

"I'm sleeping with her!" Dumbledore suddenly exclaimed, pointing at McGonagall. McGonagall stopped and stared in horror at him. Hermione blanched the tiniest bit, and managed to back up even further in the chair. "We have hot sex every single night, even for an old couple who have to look after hundreds of children and teenagers. She's the woman of my dreams. Always has been. Ever since we were so much younger." Dumbledore seemed not to notice the twin looks of horror on both women's faces as he continued chatting, conversationally with Hermione. "Some people go 'when she was your student?' and we always tell them 'no, of course not,' but people aren't always believing. Maybe they have a reason to; we don't really build up much of a case." He finally turned to McGonagall. "Do we, dearest?" He paused. "Maybe you should excuse yourself and go to the loo, my love. You look green enough to blend into the Slytherin tapestry."

McGonagall stared at him for a split second before getting up and rushing out, slamming the door shut behind her.

Dumbledore got up and cast a few wards on the door before walking round to sit in McGonagall's chair. He fixed the girl across from him with a gentle expression. "How are you, Hermione?"

Hermione simply stared at him, mouth agape, trying to quench the horrific images that her mind was creating. Curse her visual learning abilities to hell and back – there were some things best _not_ imagined.

"Legilimens," Dumbledore muttered. Hermione was too shocked to block him. He left her mind a few seconds later. "It's actually a bit hotter than that."

Hermione started. "I'm going to be sick," she whispered, weakly, starting to look a bit green herself.

"Would you like me to obliviate you?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione nodded vehemently. "Please!"

Dumbledore chuckled, pulled his wand out of his sleeve. "Possibly for the best. When all of this clears up, Minerva and I don't want to pointed out for setting precedence for yourself and Professor Snape." Before Hermione could react beyond the wide eyes and stiffening spine, he'd flicked his wrist. "Obliviate." She would remember everything up to the point of him asking McGonagall to leave them for a few moments.

Hermione blinked before relaxing and looking around. "What is it, sir?"

Dumbledore took on a serious, but kind expression. "So you'll be helping Professors Snape and Lupin with this time travel business."

Hermione nodded. "I actually came in here to ask Professor McGonagall about a book she lent me four years ago. It's about time travel. Rules and Regulations of Time Travel, put out by the Ministry."

Dumbledore looked over Hermione's shoulder and searched the bookcase. "This one?" he asked, using wandless magic to pull a bright blue, thin book off the shelf and deliver to the young girl.

Hermione held it in her hands and smiled at it. "I hadn't really paid much attention. Just skimmed over what you're supposed to do in an extreme case."

"You think this may help?" Dumbledore asked, curiously. "How? It's just rules and regulations?"

Hermione looked down and started flipping through the pages. "There's just been something on my mind," she mumbled, nervously.

Dumbledore tensed, a little knot growing in his stomach. "What has been on your mind?"

Hermione shrugged and stopped at the desired page. Why hadn't she paid more attention to it last time? "A few things. That Charlotte does or says…"

"What few things? What has she said?" Dumbledore pressed.

Hermione didn't answer. Her eyes were glued to a paragraph on the page, and her heart was starting to beat a bit faster as she read.

_**Cases where non-existent person of the current appears from the future.**__ These guidelines are dictated by stare decisis set by the successful handling of the Case of Winchester and Case of Margo. When such an event occurs, the traveling person must be stupefied and kept still until the Ministry is informed. A Ministry worker will appear at the scene as soon as possible. He or she will proceed to make alterations to the traveler's mind and memory, such as the changing of the traveler's surname and/or the names of parents, the appearance of parents, etc, etc…_

"What is it, Hermione?" Dumbledore asked again. Hermione wordlessly handed him the book, pointing at the paragraph she'd just been reading. "I see," was all Dumbledore could say.

"You…" Hermione's voice trailed off. "Didn't inform the Ministry?"

The headmaster shook his head. "Technically, being a part of the Wizengamot, I am part of the Ministry. Though that isn't reason enough for not contacting them, I believed that keeping this within the school was the best thing to do. I still do."

Hermione looked at him. "But… Did you change her name and her parents' names?"

Dumbledore looked at her for a second. She knew. "Yes, Hermione, I did. I altered her memory so that she wouldn't remember what her parents and certain others look like. She'll remember, for example, that her mother had curly brown hair, but won't remember what she looked like. It's like having the independent pieces of a puzzle and not knowing what the whole thing looks like – that's why she hasn't recognized anyone that she might know. I also changed her surname and the first names of both parents and a few others." He didn't bother to add that Charlotte had broken through his charm and figured out her father's first name.

Hermione looked away and at her hands. Her heart was hammering wildly in her throat.

"Is there something you would like to discuss with me?" The headmaster asked, gently.

Hermione looked at him. "Is there something I should know?" she wanted to ask, but knew it would sound incredibly rude. "Umm… This may sound… A bit, well, quite… _Very_, actually…" She trailed off.

Dumbledore sighed and braced himself. Of course she knew about Snape. The way he acted around Charlotte should give _something_ away and Hermione was very perceptive. "Yes, Hermione. You are right."

Hermione looked at him, wide-eyed, speechless. She was going to have a little girl. Charlotte. Her daughter. Her child.

Dumbledore smiled at the expression on the young woman's face. "Professor Snape is Charlotte's father."

The look of shock and wonderment left Hermione's face. Her amber eyes widened. "What? Oh!" She tried not to pay attention to the disappointment she suddenly felt. She laughed nervously. "That wasn't what I was thinking at all!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened and he gasped in realization. "Oh!" he groaned. "You knew that you're her mother, not that Severus is the father!" He noticed Hermione's eyes widen even more so and her jaw drop open and he actually slapped himself. Dumbledore shook his head and massaged his temple. When he looked up, Hermione had gone rigid and was staring at him as if she'd never seen him before – if it wasn't for the vibrant shade of crimson on her cheeks, he might have thought she'd turned to stone. The headmaster shook his head. "Excuse me, dear, I'm having a bad day. _Obliviate_." She would remember their conversation up to the point of him opening his big stupid mouth.

Hermione sat dazed. There were millions of thoughts and questions running through her head, the loudest of which were "Oh, dear God, oh, dear God, I was right – Charlotte's my daughter. I'm going to have a baby. I'm going to… To… Faint. I'm going faint." But before she could act on this thought, Dumbledore interrupted.

"May I ask how you figured this out?" Dumbledore asked, smiling in spite of the situation. This would be a tangled web, indeed.

"Char… Charlotte…" Hermione stopped and looked at him. "She looks _nothing_ like me."

"She looks a lot like her grandmother," Dumbledore nodded. "But you have the same hair colour. And height."

Hermione slumped back into the chair and stared out the window, her mind suddenly having gone numb. "She looks nothing like my mother. Her other grandmother must be beautiful."

"She's dead now, but…" Dumbledore frowned. Eileen hadn't been that beautiful. Yes, she was a wondrous woman with an attractive personality, but not really physically beautiful. Charlotte looked a bit better than her – she was pretty, but beautiful? The headmaster smiled at Hermione. "You think Charlotte's beautiful?"

Hermione nodded. "Gorgeous," she said. "Ron thinks I might be lesbian." She frowned in disgust. "But incest?" She shook her head. "The first time I saw her, passed out in that corridor, the first thing I thought was 'oh, my God, she's so pretty.'"

Dumbledore grinned. "I myself can't know because I'm not a parent. But I visited India once, and there's a saying…" He frowned. "Something about crows and their hatchlings and beauty. Crow hatchlings are quite ugly, but the mother crow thinks they're still the most beautiful things on Earth." He caught Hermione's look then and quickly amended the statement. "The point is, Charlotte is an attractive girl, but of course, you keep thinking it every time you see her. You've been thrust into instant motherhood. She's your daughter. I'm sure such random thoughts about how utterly wonderful she is will pass," he smiled. Suddenly, he wondered why Severus hadn't felt why Hermione was feeling… Or maybe the Potions Master had and simply refused to believe it.

Hermione turned to him and her lips quirked. "There was always this nagging at the back of my head." She shrugged. "We had the same hair colour, the same height. She has my necklace." She tugged out the silver chain and blue pendant. "This one." Dumbledore smiled and Hermione tucked it away again. "Her books – she has one of my favourites. She mentioned that her mother is a healer." She suddenly laughed again, her tone disbelieving. "Oh, my God. Semele. The name, Semele. It's her middle name. Semele was the daughter of Harmonia, which is a variation of the name Hermione."

The headmaster smiled. "Yes, Professor Flitwick told me. Thankfully, none of the others have figured it out yet."

Hermione stared at him. "Professor Flitwick knew?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He figured it out. I guess someone who can notice little things like the slightest wrist movements can notice things like the two of you leaning slightly left when you put your hands up, or the way you walk or turn around or your smiles."

Hermione suddenly looked up at him, her heart starting to beat a bit faster. "Charlotte once told me… That her father told her mother, well, me… That…" Her voice trailed off.

Dumbledore stiffened. "What is it?"

Hermione was fidgeting, playing with her skirt. Her cheeks were a deep red. "Maybe someone will hex my teeth in the future… But they're alright _now_, so, how could such an incident happen again…" How? It couldn't be Snape, maybe Charlotte got her facts mixed up, it couldn't be Snape, it couldn't be Snape, it couldn't be Snape, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…

"Hermione, will you please tell me what happened?" Dumbledore asked, staring at her mouth, wondering about her teeth. Oh, the front teeth were smaller, now. He hadn't noticed. Hermione told him about her conversation with Charlotte, and then of the incident during her fourth year. She trailed off near the end. Dumbledore's stomach tightened. He suddenly felt a strong urge to smack every smart girl that was making his life difficult – Minerva, Hermione and Charlotte. Maybe he could lock all three of them up until he died. He thought quickly and finally came up with something. Feeling just the little bit of guilt, he leaned forward. "I don't see what the problem is. Maybe someone will hex your teeth in the future as well."

"But why would they say 'I see no difference?'" Hermione asked, her heart racing, her voice rising a few pitches.

Dumbledore braced himself. "They're still a bit bigger than your other teeth," he said, trying to sound nonchalant. He was usually a great liar, unless it was Minerva he was lying to. Hopefully, that little weakness wasn't open to all Gryffindor girls.

Hermione blinked at him. "What?" she asked, slowly.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, but, listen, Hermione, we have more pressing matters to discuss."

Hermione touched her lips, but brought her attention to the headmaster. "What is it?"

Dumbledore leaned back into the chair. "This is very complicated, so I need you to pay attention. I can't tell you who Charlotte's father is – let's call him Severus Spena." Why not? That's what everyone else was calling him.

Hermione flushed a little. What a name to pick. But she wasn't about to voice her opinion and nodded at him to continue.

"Here's what's happening." Dumbledore took a deep breath and plunged into the story. "Charlotte, you, Charlotte's father and the whole staff know she's from the future. The staff, however, also knows who her father is. Minerva and Remus have taken to trying to figure out who her mother is, each for their own reasons. Minerva, no doubt, wants to tease Spena that he'll 'grow up and get married.' Remus wants to know because he cares about Spena – they're friends. Only Filius Flitwick and I know the identity of both of her parents. Now, Minerva and Remus will no doubt want your help, but you can not say anything to them. If Charlotte's father gets wind of it, it can not lead to good places because he never intended to get married nor have children. You've probably never thought much of him, either. Do you understand?"

Hermione decided to lie. "Yes."

Dumbledore sighed. "Good."

"What about Charlotte?" Hermione asked. "I can't tell her?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's probably best not to."

Hermione looked at him. "We've figured out Charlotte's boggart."

The headmaster looked at her with a curious expression. "Have you? What is it?"

Hermione felt her heart rising to her throat again. This can't be good for her system. "I must ask you something. Please don't lie to me," she said, her palms growing sweaty.

Dumbledore noticed her growing anxious. "What is it?" he asked, softly.

"Is… Is he a Death Eater?" There was no need to mention who _he_ is.

Dumbledore looked away and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione's face fall at this fact. He quickly turned back to her, his mind working on ways to overcome this new matter that would hint at Charlotte's father and plague Hermione's mind in the future. "He is one of the Death Eater spies for the Order," he said.

Hermione looked up at him, shocked. "Wha… What?"

Dumbledore nodded. "You've met him, I'm sure. At Grimmauld Place. We trust him." He inwardly danced gleefully at his own wit when he said his next sentence. "Even Professor Snape trusts him."

Hermione's lip quirked and she suddenly looked at Dumbledore through teary eyes. "You don't know what I was thinking," she said, blinking and brushing away the tear that fell. "Charlotte's memory sounded horrible."

"What was it of?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione opened her mouth, but then shut it again. She met his gaze evenly. "Would you like to see?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Legilimens." He saw Hermione and Charlotte sitting in the grass before the cave in the forest. Hermione was holding Charlotte as she cried and described what had happened to her. As Charlotte talked, Hermione's mind formed another picture of him – this was Hermione visualizing what Charlotte was describing. It was like watching two muggle televisions. This second picture was from Charlotte's perspective. He saw a hallway – the walls and floors were unclear and kept changing colours, most likely because Hermione did not know what her future house would look like. He was at a low height – he suddenly thought this was what Minerva saw every time she traveled as a cat. He felt Charlotte run through the hallway, come to stop at the door to her father's study. He could feel her hesitation, but the prospect of winning Hide and Seek quickly overpowered it and she slipped in, closing the door behind her. The picture became a bit muddied here – Hermione had no idea what her future husband's study might look like either. It became clear again as Charlotte quickly got to the wardrobe Hermione imagined, a bit different from the real one in the dungeons corridor, and got inside. Charlotte continued to talk in the first picture and Dumbledore saw her in the dark in the second picture. The white line of light that entered the wardrobe – that's what Snape had seen a few nights ago.

Nothing happened for a few seconds – Charlotte was crying in the first picture, needing to stop before continuing. In the second picture, all he saw was the darkness of the wardrobe.

A third image suddenly appeared. Same hallway that Charlotte had gone through a few moments before, but this one was at a greater height. Dumbledore frowned and delved a little deeper in curiousity. Was this Hermione's perspective? Was Hermione thinking from her future self's perspective?

The third image went through the hallway, slowly at first, looking into a few rooms, passing the study, because her daughter knew better than to go in there. The pace quickened and Dumbledore suddenly felt Hermione's worry when she couldn't find Charlotte.

The second and third pictures suddenly became active. Dumbledore reeled back a bit when he saw what Charlotte saw in the second image. The silver, skeletal mask gleamed in the dark, the little light in the wardrobe lightening it and the crimson blood on it. He felt Charlotte's panic and could hear her screams, the sounds of the second image colliding with Charlotte's sobs and words of the first. The third image showed that Hermione had heard her daughter and was now, full out running from room to room, looking everywhere, ignoring the study door again before she tracked back and realized the muffled screams were coming from inside. Dumbledore suddenly noticed Hermione trembling in the first image.

The wardrobe doors of the second and third image were thrown open simultaneously and all of a sudden, the first and second images seemed to shatter. He could _feel_ Hermione's horror when Charlotte stumbled out in the third image, the bloodied robes around tangled around her, the mask haphazardly sitting over her forehead and eyes. Hermione's mind suddenly reeled and he found himself at Minerva's desk again, dispelled out of her mind. His eyes were just a bit frightened, void of their usual twinkle as he took in the girl before him.

Hermione's stomach lurched. What the hell was that?

"Hermione? Will you be alright?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione looked at him, amber eyes strangely dark, and jerked her head once in a nod.

Dumbledore shook his head. "That was horrifying. For both of you." He massaged his temple and leaned back in McGonagall's chair. "I can't believe the war is still going on…"

"Charlotte thinks he's working for them," Hermione suddenly said.

Dumbledore looked at her, surprised. "Excuse me?"

"She thinks maybe that's why she's kept her memory repressed for so long," Hermione said. "I have to tell her that he's not." Before Dumbledore could interrupt, she continued to talk quickly. "I know I can't tell her… About me, I mean. I won't. Isn't there some other way?" She thought of something. "Can't you tell her about him?"

Dumbledore thought for a second. "It would be cruel to let her live under such a misapprehension. And such a horrific one at that." He nodded. "I shall tell her. Since the whole castle heard Madam Pomfrey's yelling earlier, I shall assume that she is at the hospital wing at the moment?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, then. We'll give Madam Pomfrey a chance to look her over. I have a staff meeting to get to, and that should give Charlotte some time to get over what she's just experienced." The headmaster paused and looked at Hermione with a somber expression. "Until I speak to her, you must promise me that you won't."

"Yes, sir," Hermione answered, dutifully.

Dumbledore waved a hand, dismissively. "I don't think you realize how hard it would be, child. It will be painful for you to see her under so much stress. You will be tempted to tell her everything. But you must _try_. Remember, if something you say or do causes her to remember something, a domino effect will occur and make her remember everything else."

Hermione frowned and looked away. "Maybe I should just stay away from her?"

Dumbledore started to say that something so drastic was not necessary, but stopped himself. "Until I speak to her, perhaps, that would be best." He shook his head. "Maybe you should start on some research if you have time today? Everyone realizes that the sooner she is gone, the better."

Hermione nodded and turned back to him. "If that's all, may I be excused?" Dumbledore nodded and she got up and started to leave. She was almost out of the door when he stopped her.

"If you need to speak to anyone, Professor Flitwick and I are here," he said, trying to sound soothing, but his voice betrayed his uncertainty. What would two men who had no children of their own know about motherhood? However, Hermione just smiled, thanked him and left.

A mere fifteen minutes later found Dumbledore at the front of the staff lounge. The teachers had settled around the room and were looking at him, curiously. Lupin and Snape were upset at being interrupted during their investigation of the wardrobe, Flitwick was looking at him rather worriedly, and McGonagall was scowling viciously at him. He'd actually tried to explain to her that Hermione had made him obliviate her, but the deputy headmistress would hear nothing of it.

"I have some… Interesting… News to share with you," Dumbledore began.

"Don't you dare!" McGonagall suddenly shrieked at him.

"It's not _that_!" Dumbledore said, looking horrified. He waited until she calmed down a bit, ignoring the curious glances he was getting from everybody else. He inhaled and started again. "It's about Charlotte."

"What has she done now?!" Snape demanded.

Dumbledore gave him an even look. "She's broken through to her repressed memory. She remembers what happened to her."

Snape, for once, couldn't think of anything to say. Lupin leaned forward, concerned. "What was it?"

Dumbledore eyed them, somberly. "Nothing," he finally said.

Lupin frowned. "Nothing?" He glanced at Snape, who simply raised an eyebrow.

Dumbledore shrugged. "I'm afraid it was simply a matter of choosing the wrong place to hide during a game of Hide and Seek." He waved his hand to silence the sudden onslaught of questions he was sure to receive. "But there is something else you should know." He braced himself and ever so slightly inched away from the Potions Master. "Charlotte's mother now knows everything."

There was a ripple of gasps through the room. Snape frowned, refusing to react and Lupin's jaw dropped open. Flitwick was looking from the headmaster to Snape and back in terror.

"How?" McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore braced himself again. He'd prepared an explanation. "A few days ago, I went to Hogsmeade. And then, something happened." Honestly, that was the best explanation that he could come up with. He looked up to see his staff looking at him with a wide variety of expressions, ranging from shocked puzzlement (like Sinistra) to downright terror (Flitwick). "It really is complicated. But the good news is that she doesn't know that Severus is the father. So, let's all try to be subtle about that. Besides the people in this room, no one else must know this. I don't want you discussing the issue in front of _anyone_ else. Including the students." He straightened. "Now, I really must go to see Charlotte about her boggart. Any questions?" The staff only stared at him and he waved a hand at them. "You're dismissed then." Before McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape or Lupin – or, Lord help him, all of them – could pounce on him, he cornered Madam Pomfrey. "I understand the poor thing is still shaken."

Madam Pomfrey nodded, glancing over his shoulder to see Flitwick watching from his place on the couch. Lupin and Snape were having a heated discussion at the other end of the room. McGonagall had left with the others. "She wouldn't tell me what was wrong. When I questioned her about her trembling and everything, she just snapped that she'd woken up too early." She shook her head. "Really, Albus? The wrong place to hide during a game? What happened?"

Dumbledore shrugged and looked away. "It really is complicated, and I doubt Charlotte would want me sharing her secrets with the whole staff."

Madam Pomfrey studied him. "How did you find out?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "It's a long story. Is she fit to receive visitors?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I suppose."

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you." Pomfrey muttered a "you're welcome" and left. Almost as soon as she was gone, Snape and Lupin appeared before him. "Gentlemen," the headmaster stated.

"What is going on?" Lupin asked. "Hide and Seek? What could possibly happen during a game of Hide and Seek?"

"Your little speech barely deserves the appellation of explanation," Snape added.

Dumbledore looked between them. Where was this united front when they were at school together? He shook his head. "I stand by what I told you about the boggart. Besides, Severus, I never knew you cared."

"Can it help us with the time traveling business?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No. They're both completely unrelated." He looked pointedly at them. "Speaking of which, shouldn't the two of you be continuing your examinations and research?" He didn't give them a chance to respond. "Great. Now, please leave. I need to have a quick word with Filius."

Snape scowled briefly at him before leaving the room. Lupin only frowned and shook his head before following the Potions Master.

Flitwick warded the door as soon as it closed and rounded on Dumbledore. "How did she find out? Have I done anything?"

"No. She is just that clever." Dumbledore smiled a bit. "Her reaction was priceless. For a teenager, she handled herself quite well." He told the Charms professor about their conversation and what he'd told Hermione about Severus _Spena_.

Flitwick frowned. "Should I speak to her?"

Dumbledore shrugged a little. "Just let her know that you're here. Is there anything else?"

"You won't tell me what the boggart was, will you?"

"No. If Charlotte decides to let you in on it, that's her decision." He closed his eyes for a second. "It would be a relief if you knew. The only people I might be able to talk about this with are Charlotte and Hermione. Charlotte… I doubt that she will be willing to talk. Hermione's a mess because of the spying business." He shook his head. "Now, I've got to go and attempt to explain what is happening to Charlotte without giving too much away."

Flitwick looked at him with sympathy. "This is like attempting a spell that has many complicated words and wrist movements. If one small thing goes wrong, the results can be disastrous." He shook his head. "How long will we keep this up?"

Dumbledore sighed as he walked toward the doorway. "Hopefully, Severus and Remus are making progress."

xXxXxXx

Charlotte was staring at the green curtains around her bed. When one looked close enough, one could see the threading patterns on the seemingly plain cloth. The threads looked almost a dark turquoise blue. Things are never what they seem. And if she dwelled on thoughts like these, she would not have to think about her traumatic experience as a child or her worst fear or anything that mattered. She narrowed her dark eyes at the curtain's threads. Dark turquoise blue overlapping a vibrant emerald green overlapping a dark turquoise blue overlapping a vibrant emerald green overlapping…

"Charlotte?"

"Yes?" her voice was hollow and she didn't look up to face him.

Dumbledore shifted uncomfortably. "Is there something I could get you?"

Charlotte didn't reply for a second. "No."

"No?"

"I want my mother. That can't be arranged, can it?"

Dumbledore sighed and look away, a bit of guilt tugging at his chest. "There's something you should know about your father."

"I don't want to hear it." A vibrant emerald green overlapping a dark turquoise blue overlapping a vibrant emerald green overlapping…

Dumbledore frowned. "I think you do, Charlotte." He paused. "Are you sure there's nothing you want?"

This time, Charlotte didn't respond for a second. Dumbledore was pleasantly surprised at her request. "I want to talk to Uncle Remus."

"Sure. I'll send for him right away," Dumbledore nodded. "But, I believe it is in your best interests to hear what I have to tell you first."

Charlotte frowned. "What?" she grumbled, sounding petulant.

"He's a spy for the Good Side," Dumbledore stated.

"I know."

Dumbledore blinked in surprise. "You do?" he asked.

Charlotte still didn't turn to face him. "If he's a Death Eater, he _must_ be a spy. Else a Death Eater married to a muggleborn would make no sense."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "No, it wouldn't." He eyed her. "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

Dumbledore tried not to sigh in exasperation. Snape's daughter through and through. "I'll get Remus."

Lupin was in Snape's office, going over more books. He'd scoured the castle looking for Hermione, but couldn't find her and Lavender Brown had told him that she'd gone to bed, feeling ill. That didn't sit well with him, but he forced it off his mind and came back to the dungeons to continue their work. They were actually working this time – Lupin could tell by Snape's demeanor that the Potions Master was barely repressing his rage and Lupin couldn't bring himself to tease him. Hide and Seek, indeed. Snape might act like an uncaring, indifferent asshole when it came to Charlotte, but that was just it – he _acted_. After everything that had happened because of Charlotte's boggart, Dumbledore owed the man more of an explanation than that Hide and Seek drabble.

The flames in the fireplace flashed and Dumbledore's head appeared. "The infirmary, as soon as you can, Remus."

Lupin put the book down and exchanged a look with Snape. "What happened?" he questioned.

"I came up here to talk to Charlotte, about her boggart. She doesn't seem to feel too comfortable with me, however," Dumbledore explained. "She wanted you. Can you spare her a few minutes?"

"Sure," Lupin said, quickly, putting his book down. He glanced at Snape, who only raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm. "She wanted me? Before you?" he asked the headmaster's head as he got up.

"Yes," Dumbledore said with a smirk.

The DADA professor was positively beaming when he reached the flames and threw a pinch of powder in. "I'll be right back, Severus," he called over his shoulder as he stepped into the emerald flames.

"Severus," Dumbledore nodded before disappearing.

Snape tried to go back to his book, but found his mind wandering. A lab is a place designed for accidents if one wasn't careful; opportunities to screw up were everywhere, laying on table tops, on floors, behind bottles, hidden in every nook and cranny, hidden – Hide and Seek, what could happen during a simple game of Hide and Seek? He frowned when he realized which tangent he was going off on and firmly told himself that he shouldn't care, it didn't matter. What did matter was a vial of blue potion that can send a person through time. Evanesce is blue, which is why the girl mixed up the bottle in the first place, assuming that it wasn't Evanesce and it was a time turner. Evanesce shouldn't react and cause problems like it did with his memory potion – would ingested time turner powder? There was no way of knowing the answer to this question without, firstly, inventing a way to compress time turning powder and making it into a liquid potion, and then feeding it to someone. He smirked – feeding it to someone. Good, Lupin was a someone. Inventing it would be a problem though; he was at the preliminary stage of research with this project.

Snape frowned as a dull thud started between his eyes. Groaning a bit, he pinched the bridge of his nose. When the action didn't help, he got up from his chair – and immediately realized he needed yet more pain reliever for his chest, which had taken a quite a few blows from the last battle. His right pectoral muscle was killing him. Rubbing it through his robes, he went to his lab in search of a headache reliever and amdiya for his chest. Granger should have brewed some a few nights ago. He opened the cupboard door to find that the vial was nearly empty. She hadn't. Scowling, he picked up the reliever and finished it off. Thankfully, it was enough to help him, but it didn't help the assessment he made that she hadn't done everything she was supposed to have. He took a cursory glance over the cupboard, mentally checking everything that she should have done. He shut it when he found nothing else wrong – it seemed like the reliever was the only thing she missed. He went to the bottles of ingredients she was supposed to have picked up. They were lined up neatly on the counter. He looked them over – everything was present and accounted for. Except the amdiya. Snape left the lab, scowling in irritation. The next time he saw Granger, he was going to give her hell.

xXxXxXxXx

Hermione glanced at the darkening sky and bit her lip a bit in worry. It was late in the afternoon, and had remembered that she'd forgotten the amdiya in the midst of all the excitement. Going into the Forbidden Forest during the afternoon was a scary thought, but she'd quickly decided that having to deal with Professor Snape sans amdiya was even scarier. Smiling wryly at the thought, she inhaled deeply and braced herself, stepping into the trees. It was even darker under the canopies, but still not dark enough that she couldn't see properly.

She ventured deeper, keeping an eye and ear open for creatures, crackling twigs, and whatnot. She shivered as the wind howled around her and pulled her cloak tighter around herself. She was totally on alert and every moving shadow (and there were many of these; the wind was moving the branches of every tree around her) gave her a bit of a fright. But she was a Gryffindor – she just stiffened her spine and carried on.

It was getting quite dark now. A lit wand would be helpful. So she pulled her wand out of its holster under her sleeve and murmured "Lumos." A steady beam of light lit the air before her for about two seconds before the wand was sloppily knocked out of her hand by a giant, furry, slimy _something_.

Hermione let out a shriek and stumbled back a few steps, her amber eyes widening and darting around, looking for whatever attacked her. It took her a few seconds, but she spotted the creature. Its inky black form almost blended with the dark blue surroundings and the black of the ground. It was low on the ground; three feet high and quite round. It moved peculiarly, a bit side to side as it moved forward. As it moved forward. It was moving forward. Toward her.

Her breath catching, she turned and started running, wishing that she'd held onto her wand. What the hell was this thing?! She sprinted through the forest, dodging and ducking around trees, while bushes and thorns scratched at her. She could hear the creature behind her, letting out low, strange sounds as it raced after her. Finally, she exploded out of the trees and into a clearing, which was lit up by the crescent moon above.

Later, she would look back on running through the clearing and remember that even though she was being hunted down by some strange creature in the middle of a forest in the evening, her terrified mind managed to go "Hey, I wonder if this is the same clearing in which Charlotte and her friends will fight the flying car in the future?" Her mind also recognized that it was a strange thought to think, so after giving itself a raised eyebrow and a frown, her mind thought to itself, "Wow, motherhood really rearranges your priorities, doesn't it?" This dry assessment would no doubt have led to another, but her train of thought was effectively cut off by the ground suddenly rushing up to meet her face.

She landed with an ungraceful "Oomph" and scared out of her wits, she scrambled around to search for the creature.

The thing just scrambled out of the forest and she realized what it was when it and its eight legs were lit up by the moon. It was one of Aragogg's children. Harry and Ron had told her all about their incident during second year.

She gulped and ever so slowly, trying to be as silent as possible, pushed herself to back away from the spider, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the thing. The spider had stopped at the edge of the clearing and seemed to be frozen, but it could, no doubt, see her – she was, after all, in the middle of a clearing with nothing around her.

But it wasn't moving.

She wondered why.

All of the spider's siblings suddenly appeared behind it.

"Oh, bugger."

The army of spiders charged and Hermione scrambled up and started running again. Ron and Harry had escaped because of the car. Where was Mr. Weasley's bloody car?!

She felt like she was about to collapse for lack of air, but pure fear and adrenaline kept her going. She couldn't die – she had a life to live. She had a Death Eater spy to marry, she had a beautiful daughter and son to give birth to – _dammit, she had NEWTS to write!_

So, obviously, her mind still hadn't sorted out her priorities.

She ran and was about to give up and fall – bye bye to her husband, children and NEWTS – when she suddenly collided into something hard under something soft. She stumbled back a bit and rubbed at her nose. "Ow," she murmured, quietly.

"Miss Granger…"

Hermione froze at the amount of venom in Professor's Snape's voice and suddenly felt like turning around and running back into the sea of giant spiders. Speaking of which, what happened to the sea of giant spiders? She glanced up cautiously at him to see that he was staring over her shoulder.

"Fuck," Snape swore, catching sight of the dozens of spiders headed their way. There was no way he could take them all on.

Hermione looked back behind her. "Prof - " Before she could end her sentence, he'd grabbed her arm and pulled her down onto the ground. He caught her around her waist and she didn't have a chance to react before an overwhelming amount of darkness overcame her. The familiar, subtly flowery scent of amdiya rose in her nose. They were in the amdiya cave – her back was shoved up against a rocky wall, the soft, grassy, slightly damp ground beneath her and her face and chest up against that hardness under softness that she'd run into a moment ago. A strong, steady beat was coming from it and was thundering through her head and she realized that it was his chest. She was pressed up against Snape's chest – his chest was hard under his soft robes.

He smelled nice, she suddenly thought. It was a slight, subtle, masculine scent – musky with some kind of spice. She felt herself colour and thanked the Gods over and over again that he couldn't possibly see her face or read her mind in this darkness.

Along with his heartbeat, she could hear the spiders moving around outside. She shifted a bit to see if she could catch a glimpse of the end of the cave, but Snape suddenly hissed "Stop that!" against her hair and she froze again, a shiver (not an unpleasant one, though, her mind noted) shooting through her at the feeling of his mouth against the side of her head and raising goose bumps all over her arms.

Snape scowled, listening intently for signs of the spiders and trying not to pay attention to the young woman in his arm. He'd cast a disillusionment charm on the cave entrance, but he was quite certain that the spiders might be able to smell them. If they found them, it would be her fault for smelling so… So… He didn't know what she smelled like. The scent coming from her hair was feminine, but not flowery and it didn't smell like the nauseating aroma called perfume that most of the female student body insisted on drowning everyone in. Maybe he was picking it up because of his nose; maybe the spiders wouldn't catch it at all.

In any other situation, being so close to Hermione Granger in a dark, secluded place and pondering on the scent of her hair would have been deemed inappropriate. But he wasn't going to go There. He'd went dangerously near There when she'd started squirming against him, pressing all of her curves against him, but he'd turned back. And he wasn't going to pay any attention to her. He was going to pay all of his attention on the horrible, gray, slimy, hairy spiders –

"Professor?" Her breath against his throat.

"What?" he asked, lowly, wondering if he could move away the tiniest bit. He shouldn't be reacting like this – he was her teacher.

'So? She's eighteen,' a voice replied smoothly in his mind. Snape scowled and quickly identified the voice as the same one who said such things as "But the Masks look cool" and "Dumbledore would never know" and other such things.

'But - ' Another voice started in his head. Snape's scowl stayed the same – this was the voice which responded to 'But the Masks look cool' with 'But the Mark looks tacky' and 'Dumbledore would never know' with 'Dumbledore knows all.' 'But,' the voice continued. 'She _is_ eighteen.'

What the fuck.

Snape waited for the Snape Angel in his head to catch himself and correct the last statement but none came. He'd be damned. Every part of his mind was telling him it was perfectly fine to feel –

"Professor, are you listening to me?!" Hermione suddenly hissed.

Snape shut his eyes against her hair. 'She'd been talking and you've stopped listening. See? You could be bedding her.'

Hermione felt him smirk against her hair.

"Yes, Miss Granger, I was," he replied, smoothly.

Hermione frowned. "Then what was I saying?!" she whispered.

There was a silence for a second. Hermione was about to exclaim "Aha!" or something to that extent in triumph and irritation, but… Snape was a Death Eater spy who needed to get out of sticky situations every time he was called away on a meeting. Ergo, his skills in getting out of said situations were finely honed. "I would love to provide a summary, but I doubt we have the time," he snarked.

Hermione slumped. "Okay," she mumbled. Suddenly, she realized that his heart beat was the only thing she could hear. "Do you… Do you hear them anymore?"

For a second, Snape didn't reply. "Well, Miss Granger," he said, voice back to normal. "It seems the danger has passed." He felt her let out a breath in relief against his chest and smirked. "What are you waiting for, woman?"

Hermione didn't move. She had no idea what he wanted her to do. "Sir?"

"Get out," Snape replied. He paused and smirked against her hair. "Unless you have some desire to stay in this position for longer?" he purred. As expected, Hermione stiffened and let out a bit of a yelp before scrambling to crawl out. Before she did, he felt her face grow hot against his chest and chuckled to himself. But he quickly stopped when, once again, her movements made his thoughts go There and forced himself to think of the Dark Lord and Dumbledore kissing. Ew. When he no longer felt her presence, he grabbed some amdiya, enlarged a small container he'd brought, put the plant in, shrunk it again and returned it to his pocket before slipping out of the cave. He paused for a moment to scowl at Hermione, who'd been waiting for him at the cave entrance, before starting to walk back to the school.

Hermione fell in step beside him. "Thank you," she stated, evenly.

"Why were you out here this late?" Snape asked, curiously.

"I came to get the amdiya. I suppose that's why you were here?" Hermione asked, conversationally.

Snape scowled. "Why didn't you get it earlier today?!" he demanded.

Hermione shrugged. "We came up here earlier, but Cha – Umm. Something happened," she finished, weakly.

Snape suddenly stopped and turned to her, eyeing her carefully. He'd heard the "Cha" before she'd caught herself, he knew that Hermione and Charlotte had been on a walk that morning and he knew that Charlotte had come back looking shaken. Hermione shifted a little nervously under his gaze and looked away. His expression softened and he closed his eyes against what he felt was another impending migraine. "What happened?" he asked, sounding rather tired.

Hermione, surprised at his tone, looked up at him and was struck by how he looked at the moment. Ever since she was a little girl, he'd been the mean, cruel greasy git of the dungeons who'd saved her and her friends' lives over and over again. He'd always been someone who can walk into a room and take control of a situation in two seconds, a mastermind who played a major role in the Order. She'd always looked up to him because of his intelligence and she'd been awed by everything he's accomplished, from academia to espionage and everything in between. He'd always been strong, powerful, and untouchable against everything. But not now.

At the moment, that half-second during which his guard was done, she saw that his lank hair was messed and his clothes were wrinkled because of their duck into the cave. The dim lighting in the forest showed that he was extremely pale and the shadows cast across his face brought out the hollowness in his cheeks. He looked tired, overwhelmed and worn-out and she suddenly had an urge to force feed him chicken soup and something with a lot iron, tuck him into bed and nurse him to health and somehow take away the stress in his life until he looked his age. Somehow take the stress in his life… That would be all of his responsibilities to the school, Dumbledore, the Order, Voldemort, Charlotte… Her brow furrowed a bit in concern and sympathy and she fought the urge to hug him. This was easy to do, as the moment ended and he was suddenly back.

He opened his eyes and frowned at her. "I asked you a question!" he barked.

Hermione started a bit and looked away. "I can't tell you."

Snape scowled. "Believe me when I say you can. I know well that you know how to _talk_." He paused. "You were with Charlotte when her memory became free," he stated.

Hermione didn't reply, but inclined her head.

Snape eyed the top of her head, taking in the way she refused to meet his gaze. "Do you know what it was?" he asked, voice low.

Hermione didn't talk or move. Her heart was beginning to race. What if he found out and one thing led to another and he eventually figured out that Charlotte was her daughter?

"Answer me!" he suddenly ordered, loudly.

Hermione started a bit and stepped back before nodding. "We should get back," she suddenly added softly and started walking before he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in front of him. She looked up, shocked and tried to twist out of his grasp. "Let me go!" she snapped. "I'm not going to tell you. I _can't_ tell you."

"Why _can't_ you?!" Snape snapped, letting her go.

Hermione stepped back and scowled at him. "It's Charlotte's problem." _It's my problem…_ "If you _must_ know, ask her."

Snape scowled and started walking again. "As if she would tell me. She doesn't know what's good for her enough to tell me."

Hermione stared after him for a second before running to catch up. "Why must you know?" she inquired, staring up at him.

"It may help us send her back."

"It won't," Hermione replied quickly.

Snape stopped again and glared viciously at her. "Fine, so it won't send her back! That's not the damned point!" he snapped.

Hermione looked up at him, stunned. "Then what is?" she asked. Snape only eyed her for half a second before turning around again and continuing on his way. Hermione stared at his retreating back for a second and a thought hit her. Without quite thinking about it, she voiced it. "You're concerned!" she exclaimed.

Snape stopped, back stiffening and turned to look at her. For a second, he looked at her as if he'd never seen her before. Then, he did the last thing Hermione expected – he turned around and left, uttering not a single word in denial.

xXxXxXx

A/N

Hey all, hey all.

I cut out Lupin's discovery – this thing was already 30.5 pages long! It'll show up next chapter.

You can't say I disappointed you. Huge development this chapter – "Congratulations, Hermione, it's a girl! … And a boy, later." And how did you feel about Hermione's reaction to "Oh, you knew that you're the mother, not Severus is the father… Oh, crap. Obliviate." I'm so cruel!

Next chapter:

_Lupin and Charlotte have a bit of heart-to-heart. Charlotte tells him what's bugging her about the spy business – can you guess what? Also, another character comes up in the discussion – can you guess who?_

_Harry, Luna and Charlotte go for a walk and meet someone – a confrontation that you will love, I promise._

_This is three years in the making. Hermione asks Snape a VERY important question…_

Please review…


	11. Werewolves, Blondes and Wardrobes

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

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Author's Note:

Sorry, sorry, sorry!! Not only did I have midterms and projects (I HATE UNI!!!), I have some financial/family problems – think Hindu marriage with dowry issues. … Yeah, it's that bad.

Enjoy the fic…

Luv

Creatress

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Chapter 11 – The Werewolf, the Blondes and the Wardrobe

Dumbledore had only given Lupin a quick nod before leaving the infirmary and as soon as he did, the werewolf walked up to Charlotte's bed. She was still staring at the curtains. "Charlotte?" Lupin asked, tentatively. Now that he was here, the 'I'm an uncle-figure and my best friend's daughter trusts me and wants advice' delight was disintegrating. Teenagers in classrooms, he could deal with. Teenagers with Charlotte's problems were another story. Even Harry was easier – the Chosen One just wanted stories about his parents. Lupin could tell stories, but he had a feeling that Charlotte wasn't interested in their childhood antics… Not that there were many, anyway.

Sighing inwardly, he pulled the curtains around her bed and settled into the chair that Hermione had occupied that morning. "This must have been a rough day," he remarked.

Charlotte actually smirked a little. "You don't know the half of it." She turned around on the bed to face him and her smirk ebbed into a frown as her eyes roamed over his face. "Why do you look so old here?"

Lupin blinked and then laughed out loud at her blatant tone. "Your father's subtleness has passed you over," he stated.

Charlotte frowned. "Do you know him?" she asked.

Lupin frowned. "Yes," he said, slowly. "But you know I can't tell you who or where he is…" His voice trailed off.

Charlotte waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, I realized." She looked up at him. "Can you tell me about him?"

Lupin was about to say no when he thought about her question. "I guess there are a few things I can tell you. Others, I can't. Because time travel makes everything so unstable, Charlotte, you realize that, right?"

Charlotte nodded. "I figured. Did you know that he's a spy?"

Lupin inclined his head. "Yes." He frowned, taking in her troubled expression. "What is it?"

"It turned out that my repressed memory was of clothing. His robes when he… You know," Charlotte ended.

Lupin stared at her, not understanding. "Robes, Charlotte?"

"I was playing Hide and Seek with my mother and ran into my father's wardrobe. I didn't notice it until I shut the doors and turned around in the dark. You know, the robes, the mask and all. I got tangled up in them and then the mask fell on me. Everything was bloody. I guess he'd been out earlier that day."

"Charlotte, you have to understand, he is a good man who has gone through so much for all of us," Lupin said quickly. "He would never…" He trailed off and started again. "You don't have to be afraid of him."

Charlotte smiled for about half a second. "I know." She curled up a bit, tucking her hands beneath her pillow. "Professor Snape is one, as well, isn't he?"

Lupin stopped short and looked at her, wondering what to say. Had she made the connection…?

"I know he is. Don't bother trying to tell me he's not for security purposes," Charlotte said, shaking her head, that smile flashing across her lips again. "I was here. When he showed up here a few nights ago, barely alive. The mask was in his hand." She moved onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. "He looked so… Hurt. Tortured. Like he'd rather be dead…"

Lupin watched her carefully, not quite knowing what to say. Her obsidian eyes looked unfocussed and he knew she was lost in thought. Her next sentence confirmed this.

"Has that ever happened to my father?"

Lupin stopped short again. He didn't know what to say and turned away.

"Won't you answer?" Charlotte mumbled, still staring at the ceiling. Lupin said nothing. "Silence implies the affirmative."

Lupin had to smile a little at her words. _'Silence implies the affirmative.'_ The line sounded so… Wise and mature. Not something to expect from a sixteen-year-old. But now, _he_ had to say something wise. Like what? "He's been hurt. But he's not anymore." He wanted to hit himself – that had to be the dumbest thing he'd ever said in his whole life. "It's hard to explain."

"Why would he…?" Charlotte's voice trailed off. "I was going to ask why he would want to spy in the first place, but I've decided I don't want to know." Her voice was matter-of-fact.

"Why not?" Lupin mumbled.

"Fine, then, I want to know. Please tell me why my father would join a bunch of genocidal maniacs in the first place."

Lupin looked at her and had to smile at the sarcastic bluntness of the statement. The sarcasm she got from Severus. Where did she get that frankness? He shook his head, his smile turning a little wry. "Haven't you ever done something that, at the time, seemed like a good idea, but later on, you can't even remember if you even stopped to think before acting?"

Charlotte suddenly thought of the elm tree and Tom and smiled. "_He_ never took it well when I used 'it seemed like a good idea at the time' as an excuse. Now you're telling me…?"

Lupin shrugged. "Sometimes, we act on pure emotion. Of course, your father would say we act on pure stupidity," he smiled, fondly. "But he realized his mistake and has been making up for it ever since." He turned back to Charlotte and cautiously touched the side of her hair. "You can fear his former job, Charlotte, but it makes no sense to fear him. He loves you." The certainty and the high level of conviction in his voice surprised even Lupin himself.

Charlotte smiled up at him. "I know." She paused. "Does he know I'm here?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes. He's trying to get used to the idea."

"He would probably have an easier time if you stop teasing the man every second you get." Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared at Charlotte's bedside and pressed a hand to the girl's forehead.

Charlotte looked at Lupin from under Madam Pomfrey's fingers. "You tease him? About me?"

Lupin shifted, a little uncomfortably. "Yes," he admitted, but then looked at her. "It's only because it's a little strange to see him in a father's role. It was sprung upon us, as well, you know. I thought that our, he and I, I mean, that our time was up." He smiled, nervously. "We just never wanted to have children. Because from where we're standing, we just _can't_. The war, the danger…"

Charlotte looked at him, evenly. "Wars end. Dangers pass."

Lupin smiled. "That's good to know."

Charlotte shook her head. "But even when they're around, you can't put everything else on hold."

Lupin shrugged and inclined his head, but said nothing.

Charlotte frowned at him. "I think silence can also imply uncertainty."

"Have I missed something?" Madam Pomfrey asked, looking between the two of them.

"I suppose," Lupin shrugged with a small smile.

Charlotte said nothing and Madam Pomfrey gave them a strange look. "How does he take it?" Charlotte asked. "The teasing?"

Lupin shrugged.

"He is ready to disown you." Madam Pomfrey was busily writing in a file, almost as if she had said nothing.

Charlotte looked at Lupin, eyes wide. "Is he?"

"No, no. Of course, not. He's just a gruff man who doesn't take to change well," Lupin assured her.

"He would probably be more amiable if you didn't tease him so much," Madam Pomfrey put in again.

Lupin scoffed. "He teases me more," he retorted. "And he has more ammunition than I can ever have, whether or not Charlotte is here."

"That is rather unfair though," Charlotte said with a frown. "And I still fail to see how I can be used ammunition for teasing…"

Lupin scowled at Madam Pomfrey because of the trouble she'd caused and then turned back to Charlotte. "You can't be. You're perfect," he guaranteed her with a nod.

Charlotte didn't seem to buy that. "So… He doesn't want children. I suddenly appeared here. He's trying to get used to the fact. And you…" She cocked her head, looking at Lupin. "You've been teasing him about me?" There was thoughtful and highly displeased frown on her face.

Lupin blinked at her. "Well, when you put it that way…" he muttered.

"If you had a child, would he tease you?" Charlotte suddenly asked.

"Probably," Lupin said. He grinned. "If it were even possible that I could, I would take the news better. Ergo, he would have no reason to tease me."

Charlotte smirked, her onyx eyes glittering dangerously like Snape's and Lupin's grin faltered a little. "You know what sounds like a bad name?"

Lupin stopped short. "Pardon?"

"You what sounds like a bad name, Uncle Remus?" Charlotte asked again, raising an eyebrow. "Like, it reminds you of little stuffed animals and has absolutely no flow with its last name and everyone knows that… That it's a bad name." She paused. "And this man decides to name his child this and his child says he will _never_ forgive him for it."

Even Madam Pomfrey looked up from her file and looked back and forth between Charlotte and Lupin, feeling that something was about to happen. Lupin apparently felt the same way and was watching Charlotte carefully. "What?" he asked, weakly.

Charlotte smirked. "Teddy Lupin. Everyone knows it's a bad name. Apparently, everyone but you, that is – Ted'll _never_ forgive you." For a second, no one moved. Madam Pomfrey glanced at Lupin and then quickly left the scene. Lupin stared at Charlotte with his jaw hanging open. Charlotte eyed him with a frown. "Uncle Remus?"

Lupin started and gaped at her. "It's late. You should go to sleep." He got up and started walking out, clearly in a state of shock. His shoulders were rigid, his back was straight and there was an odd expression on his face.

Charlotte watched him go through the doors before realizing that she might have taken it a step too far. "Bugger," she grumbled. Quickly looking to make sure that Madam Pomfrey wasn't pay attention, she shoved her boots on and ran out of the hospital wing, looking for Lupin. She spotted him only a few meters away and ran to catch up. She bolted past him and came to a stop in front of him.

Lupin started and stared at her. "You should be in bed."

Charlotte gasped for breath a bit and leaned against the wall. "Ted… Only Ted thinks it's a bad name. Everybody else thinks…" She trailed off and rolled her eyes. "Well, nobody else really bothers about it." She smirked. "We just think it's sickeningly cute every time his girlfriend calls him Teddy Bear. Ted once told me that it was just sickening, but it's not like he's made much of an effort to stop her…" Realizing that she was rambling, she stopped talking and looked up at Lupin. "You look even worse than you did before."

Lupin only gawked blankly at her. "Do I?" he asked, voice strangely monotone.

Charlotte leaned more of her weight against the wall. "Yes." She looked at him. "I hope you lied."

Lupin started out of his trance. "You hope I lied?" he frowned.

"When you said you would take news of children better than my father would. I hope you lied. Because if this is how you – you, Uncle Remus, the _nice_ one, are taking it, imagine how he must have reacted." Charlotte pushed herself off the wall and took a step toward him. "I know he can't be handling this well. I know. In the future, he doesn't know what he's doing – he told us that, you know." She laughed shortly. "He was joking, then, trying to make it light. Mama said he'd even read muggle parenting books and is still having trouble. He's just not the fatherly person." She glanced away and her voice cracked the tiniest bit. "I know he doesn't want children. In this time." She paused for a second. "And here I am," she added, quietly.

Lupin stared at her. She'd just poured out all of her feelings, and in her rush to get it all out, hadn't really communicated that well. Her speech had been fast, breathy and she'd jumped all over the place, but he thought he caught the gist of it. "You… You feel unwanted," he guessed.

"What if they don't find a way to send me back? What if I get trapped back here? Firstly, I'll never see my family or my friends again. And what would happen to me? My father in this time would never even…" Her voice trailed off and she looked away, before moving a bit of topic. "My mother's probably around my age, but I can guess what kind of a person she is. If she found out, she would probably want to do her duty and accept me, but she's so young. She can't. She just can't." Charlotte looked up at him with wide, pained eyes that were glazed over with tears (once again, Lupin just couldn't place those eyes on Snape) and shook her head. "That's not it. Well, not all…" She glanced away again and her hand flew across her cheek. "When I first remembered what had happened to me, I just kept thinking, what if he hasn't changed sides yet? What if he hasn't changed? Even if he's here on the light side, what if he still holds some of the values that – that… " She stopped rambling and frowned. "That _they_ preach. Blood purity." She looked at Lupin. "He would hate me. As far as they go, I'm seventy-five percent filth."

Lupin looked at her, not knowing how to respond for a second. He opened his mouth to tell her that Snape had let those ideals go a long time ago, but Charlotte was speaking again.

"And I'm trying to make up for it. I swear, I'm trying to be good, but stuff just keeps happening. I let something slip or say the wrong thing or just do something to mess everything up. He hates mistakes, and that's all I've been doing since I've gotten here and I keep wondering what he thinks of me and it can't help that you keep making fun of the situation, because it just makes everything so much harder for me, more so than it alrea - " Charlotte stopped, mid-sentence when Lupin suddenly stepped up to her and pulled her into a hug.

Lupin didn't know what pushed him to do it, but seeing her so distraught, upset and lost probably helped. He didn't know what to do or say; a lot of what she was saying was true. It would only pain her if he reaffirmed her fears – "Yes, you do keep slipping and he does hate mistakes" – so he just kept quiet. Of course, Charlotte had handled the situation better than he had expected, however, she wasn't perfect. _Nobody_ was perfect, but, as everyone knew, Severus Snape hated mistakes. He hated mistakes as much as he hated drastic change.

As this thought settled, a knot started building in his stomach and Lupin noticed Charlotte's breathing. She was taking deep breaths, probably to keep from crying. There was another thing that Snape just didn't like – tears. The Potions Master deemed them a sign of weakness and a waste of time, but Lupin knew that, like many men, Snape just didn't know how to act around a crying person. If Snape had seen Charlotte then, Lupin had no doubt that he'd simply have scowled, barked at her to "stop sniveling and go fix whatever her problem was," barked at him to "stop coddling her" and left the scene so that he wouldn't have to deal with her crying. Then, he would have waited until he cornered Lupin and demanded a full report on what was happening – but Charlotte wouldn't know this. "I'll stop making fun," he suddenly heard himself mutter. Even through his surprise, he realized that he did need to stop making fun. His friendly jibes were funny and in good spirit, but Snape didn't need jokes. Snape needed someone to help him adapt to the change, not someone who kept pointing out the sunshine and rainbows in the change. His remarks were making it harder for him. And for Charlotte. Sighing inwardly, Lupin massaged Charlotte's back with his hand, the way his mother used to do for him when he was an upset child.

She could smell him – she had a keen sense of smell. Aunt Victoria had a dog named Mary Elizabeth (her boyfriend, Henry Fitzroy had named her, but no one would tell Charlotte _why_) and Mary Elizabeth had that same, pleasant subtle smell. It was in her fur and the first time Charlotte had woken up with Mary Elizabeth curled up beside her, her sleep-plagued mind had remembered the smell from the Lupins' house, their couches, their carpets, Teddy's room, his sheets and for the longest moment before she'd opened her eyes, she'd sat wondering if she'd slept over there again. Anyways, it was then that she'd realized that the pleasant, subtle smell, that always reminded her of Uncle Remus or Teddy, fit well with Mary Elizabeth – it was, in fact, distinctly canine. A werewolf trait.

Oh, she knew about the lycanthropy. She knew Uncle Remus had a lot of angst about it, but to Teddy, her and Jason, it was just _cool_. Her parents and Teddy's parents would never know it, but, late one night, when, at thirteen years of age, she'd snuck out of her house, nineteen-year-old Teddy had been the one to find her. He'd always been a big brother to her, so after the customary gentle admonishing (about getting caught), he'd decided to take her home. He couldn't apparate directly onto their properties and a cracking sound at the front door would have woken people, so that was out of the question. Neither had a broom, so they couldn't fly. Neither wanted to walk or take the Knight Bus in case it woke anyone when it arrived at their destination. So why not transform into his werewolf form and give her a ride? She remembered getting on top of the large creature, locking her arms around his neck, burying her face into the back of his head and holding on for dear life as he ran through their town at breakneck speed to get her home safely, all the while comforted and feeling safe because of that pleasant, subtle, distinctly canine scent.

When he said he'd stop his teasing, Charlotte gulped and nodded, pressing her forehead into the front of his robes, getting another pleasant whiff. "Thank you," she whispered. If she'd spoken the least bit louder, her voice would have cracked and she would have started sobbing. Now, he was rubbing her back and she realized she needn't have bothered with her voice. Her eyes were closed so she couldn't see him, but she could smell him, and therefore, smell Teddy. Now, he held her the way Teddy held her. It would be so easy to pretend that she was home and with Teddy. With this thought, a tidal wave of nostalgia waved over her and she lost the fight against her tears.

Saying nothing, Lupin just held her as he felt his robes grow damp. Something must be done. Soon.

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Snape stalked through the halls, trying to walk off the feeling of… He didn't know what feeling it was, but it was heavy in his chest and he didn't like it. Normally, he would have drunk away anything that he didn't like, but alcohol couldn't be mixed with the potions he'd taken to help his sore muscles. To distract himself, he'd tried looking at time turners and time potions, but that reminded him of Charlotte, and every time he thought of her, he was vividly reminded of Hermione's revelation in the forest. He could hear her enlightened, awed voice – "You're concerned." He'd wanted so badly to snap at her, to make some cutting, terrifying comment that would leave her quaking and never so much as ponder the possibility of thinking such a thing ever again… But he hadn't. So, he was taking a walk through the castle, intent on finding some other poor Gryffindors to let his frustrations out on. So far, however, no points had been taken – the castle was eerily silent.

Finally, he heard some shuffling and he begrudgingly let his mood turn up just a little. So someone was sneaking about…

He turned the corner, ready to swoop down on whoever it was and stopped short. Lupin was comforting a sobbing Charlotte. He looked over them and frowned. She was more like the werewolf's daughter than his own – that was a scary thought. But it was probably within his duties to investigate why the girl was so upset now. Scowling at having to do such a thing, he cleared his throat to get their attention.

Lupin looked up, and Snape saw that his face was long and somber. Charlotte didn't bother to turn, but her sobs eased just the tiniest bit.

Snape inclined his head toward Charlotte. "What is going here?"

Lupin turned around again and closed his eyes, tiredly. "We're talking about how much of a jerk you are." An odd sound came up from Charlotte, as if she'd let out a snort of laughter and a sob at the same time. Lupin's lips twitched the tiniest bit and he relaxed, knowing that he'd managed to draw out a bit of happiness from her in this sad, dire situation.

Snape frowned. "Do you realize how late it is? It is well past your bedtime," he spat. He paused for a second, and then added, "You had better get to bed, as well, Miss Spena."

Surprisingly enough, Charlotte let out a bit of a giggle and Lupin turned and smirked at him.

"Come, Charlotte, I'll walk you back to the hospital wing," Lupin said.

"Must I go back there? I swear I'm feeling better now," Charlotte said, drawing away from him.

Lupin frowned. "But Madam Pomfrey - "

"Hasn't written a ransom note yet?" Snape cut in with a scowl. "Take her back to her dormitory. It's embarrassing, the amount of time she spends in the hospital wing."

Charlotte blinked at Snape, surprised that he'd taken her side… Albeit, in an incredibly rude and cutting way.

Lupin started to smirk and make a comment, but remembering his recent promise to Charlotte, turned away. He placed a hand on Charlotte's shoulder and started steering her toward the Ravenclaws' rooms. "Come, then. I doubt Pomfrey's going to fight with Professor Snape over this."

Charlotte nodded and turned around to thank the Potions Master, but he was already gone.

xXx

Monday was boring, to say in the least. Hogwarts must have added more and more to its curriculum between the time that Luna left and the time that Charlotte entered. The material the classes covered was fourth-year work to sixth-year Charlotte. The late night plus the tedious material made Charlotte drowsy for the day, and she had to endure Luna's concern (which she felt guilty to be cause of), Ginny's smirks (which Charlotte shared), and the professors' questioning looks. The professors were, in fact, flabbergasted – Charlotte could barely keep herself focused enough to listen to what they had to say (she'd already heard it), and she wouldn't answer any questions (she wasn't listening, ergo, she hadn't heard them being _asked_), and yet, she managed to charm her parchments to flap around the classroom, prune a Judlebork plant, transfigure a feather into a box before all the others in her classroom…

Finally, she'd explained the curriculum changes to McGonagall, after she'd gotten bored waiting for everyone else to finish. She'd decided to amuse herself by changing her box back into a feather, the feather into a chicken, the chicken into an egg – she'd kept going back and forth between the egg and the chicken. When McGonagall stopped in front of the desk and raised her eye brows at her, Charlotte, never stopping the transformations between the egg and the chicken, nonchalantly asked the deputy headmistress "Which do you think came first?"

"Which do I think came first?" McGonagall echoed.

"Which came first – the chicken or the egg?" Charlotte clarified.

McGonagall stared at the egg before Charlotte flicked her wrist and it morphed into a chicken. "I…" McGonagall narrowed her eyes. Another flick, and the egg reappeared. "Don't know."

Charlotte smirked at her expression. "But you're the professor – you're supposed to know everything!" Egg, chicken, egg, chicken…

Ginny looked over from her seat near Charlotte and Luna. "I think the chicken did – the parent has to be here before the child, right?"

"But the parent chicken would have come from an egg, as well…" Luna murmured, unsurely.

McGonagall looked at Charlotte with a frown. "Did your father teach you this?" she asked. She didn't know why she immediately jumped on the Potions Master – it just seemed she wouldn't put it past him to teach his daughter something like this to torture the transfigurations professor with.

Charlotte looked up at the teacher with wide, disbelieving eyes and shook her head. Glancing around to make sure that no one was looking, she looked up intently at the deputy headmistress and mouthed, "You did!"

After their last class, which they had with the Hufflepuffs, Charlotte and Luna left and decided to take a walk out on the grounds. Luna was constantly looking questioningly at her, trying to make sure she was okay – Charlotte had spent the whole weekend in the hospital wing. Luna and Ginny had tried to visit, but Pomfrey had strictly told them that she wasn't fit to receive visitors.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You know how she is," she grumbled. She pushed the matron out of her mind and looked around the grounds, taking a deep breath of spring air. "It feels good to be out."

Luna smiled and was about to respond, but a figure caught her attention. "Harry," she said, softly, nodding at him.

Charlotte turned to look at him, and then glanced at Luna with a smirk. "Let's go say hi," she suggested in a strange tone and bounded off toward him.

Luna stared confusedly after her and then quickened her pace to catch up.

Harry's face brightened when he saw the two girls. "Finally, a few familiar faces," he said.

"Hello," Charlotte said absent-mindedly to Harry, her dark eyes fixed gleefully on Luna as the blonde came to a stop beside her.

Luna gave her another confused look and turned to Harry. "Hello, Harry. Where is Ron?"

Harry shrugged, sulkily. "He said he wanted to visit Rosmerta."

Luna nodded, understandingly. "Ah."

Charlotte frowned. "Rosmerta? The woman at Three Broomsticks?"

Harry nodded, looking wary. "She's all he ever talks about. Maybe they _will_ end up together; Ron seems obsessed."

Luna shrugged and Charlotte snorted before smirking slyly for half a second. "What are you doing out here?" Charlotte asked Harry.

"I had nothing else to do so I thought I'd come out here and look for Hermione's wand. She lost it last night," Harry told them. "Want to come with me?" He asked them, taking a step toward the forest.

"Well, I did have some research to do about - " Luna stopped abruptly and looked at Charlotte, who was staring searchingly at her. "Yes, Charlotte?"

Charlotte's dark eyes bore into her silver ones before the other girl looked away to glance at Harry. She gave Harry the same searching look and frowned. "Nothing," she murmured. She faced Harry. "Why did Hermione lose her wand?"

Harry shrugged. "She was acting strange last night. Smiling like an idiot one moment, and looking like she wanted to cry the next," he muttered, looking away. He turned back to the girls and looked at them soberly. "I think all that stress has caught up with her."

Charlotte frowned. Maybe the Death Eater thing had scared Hermione more than she thought – the girl was muggle born, after all. There was a little kick against her chest at the thought that she might have lost one of her only friends here. "Did she… Mention me?" she asked, unsurely.

Harry frowned in thought and then nodded. "Something about doing research for you?" he recalled.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Maybe she was helping with the time travel mess, now that she knew about it. It could explain why she was absent all day, making much more sense than her avoiding the Ravenclaw because of her parentage. "I see," Charlotte said, looking confused and trying to convey that she didn't know what Harry was talking about. No one else but Hermione knew, after all…

Harry seemed to have bought the bluff, for he nodded understandingly. "So will you guys come with me?" he turned to Luna and looked at her with a mock-beseeching look. "It's the Forbidden Forest – what if something comes after me? I need you!"

Charlotte suddenly coughed, but Luna thought she could hear the words "Well spotted!" coming from around it. The blonde turned to Harry. "I don't see why not." She turned back to Charlotte. "You'll come with us, won't you, Charlotte?"

Charlotte's eyes widened. "What would you need me for?"

"We're trying to find a stick in a forest," Harry put in, pointedly. "It could take us all day."

"How about a locator spell?" Luna asked, raising her eyebrows.

Harry suddenly looked embarrassed and Charlotte laughed, snaking an arm around Luna's small shoulders. "Good idea, Luna. See – not all blondes are dumb."

"No, they are not."

Charlotte caught Harry and Luna stiffening before she turned around to see who had joined them. There were three – all Slytherins, a blonde flanked by two burly brunettes.

"One of us would be the smartest at the school if the Mudbloods would stay out," the blonde added.

_Malfoy_. Charlotte didn't have time to think about the sweet little boy his face reminded her of, but she reacted to the racial slur and scowled. She was about to react further, but suddenly felt Luna's hand on her arm, silencing and preventing her from saying something equally cutting to the three.

"Get lost, Malfoy, I don't have time for you," Harry snarled, taking his wand out.

Malfoy's silvery eyes wandered over to Charlotte and he frowned. "Who is this?" he asked, curiously.

"None of your business!" Harry snapped, bringing Malfoy's attention back to him.

Malfoy sneered at him. "Yet another addition to the Dream Team, Potter?" he spat.

Harry mirrored Malfoy's spiteful expression. "Get. Lost."

Malfoy opened his mouth to reply, but Luna cut him off. "I'm sure it's alright, Harry. Charlotte has no reason to keep her identity secret." She turned and gazed pointedly at Charlotte.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Luna before turning to face Malfoy. "Charlotte Semele Spena," she said evenly, her dark gaze fixed to his silver eyes.

Malfoy only stared at her. "Why have I not seen you before?" he asked.

"I am a transfer student," Charlotte responded, starting to grow very annoyed. "You have my name." She jerked her head in the opposite direction. "So leave."

Malfoy smirked unpleasantly. "That wasn't very nice, Miss Spena."

"I'm not a nice person, Malfoy," Charlotte scowled. She slipped her hand into her sleeve and clutched at her elm wand. "Leave us."

Malfoy shook his head. "I don't believe I will. I _belong_ here – these grounds don't belong to you three."

"What is your business here?" Luna suddenly asked, quietly. "Did you need something from this very spot?"

Malfoy scowled at her. "That's none of your business, Loony!" he snapped.

Harry whipped out his wand and was pointing it at Malfoy. "Don't call her that!" he snarled.

"That's what she is, isn't she?" Malfoy responded. He turned back to Luna and opened his mouth to say something when Harry cut him off.

"Don't say _anything_ to her!" Harry snapped.

"Stop me, Potter!" Malfoy snapped. "What are you doing here, Loony?" he asked, turning back to Luna.

Luna turned away, an embarrassed flush started to creep into her pale cheeks and Charlotte stepped in front of her. "Stop that," she said. Her tone was soft and controlled, but her narrowing eyes showed that there was a storm waiting to erupt beneath her calmness.

Malfoy met her gaze evenly. "Oh, Member #7 wants to get in on the action?"

Luna wrapped her arms around Charlotte's wrist and tugged a bit. "Charlotte, just ignore him. We were leaving anyways."

Charlotte's grip on her wand tightened for half a second before Luna tugged at her again. Charlotte forced herself to take a breath, relax and let go of her wand.

Luna then turned to Harry. "Harry, please. He doesn't even have his wand out."

Harry scowled fiercely at Malfoy, but realizing that Luna was right, started to lower his wand.

Malfoy, noticing this, smirked. He looked over the three of them. "My, my, Potter. I thought you had Loony whipped, but it turns out that you are _her_ bitch?"

Before Harry could angrily raise his wand again, Charlotte had twisted her wrist out of Luna's grasp and stepped up to Malfoy. Malfoy didn't have a chance to react before Charlotte's fist flew into the side of his head.

Malfoy reeled and stumbled back a step, stopped by Crabbe and Goyle who caught and straightened him. Charlotte watched him, her obsidian eyes narrowed with fury. Luna clamped her hands over her mouth in shock.

Harry burst out laughing.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"You look like you should have been buried a good two weeks ago," Snape drawled, by way of greeting.

Hermione didn't have the energy to scowl at his remark. She looked the way she felt – tired. Her skin was pale, there were circles under her eyes, her amber eyes were dull, and her lips were pale and chapped. Even her hair seemed lifeless; it was lanker than it's usual curly, bouncy self. It might even be able to pass for normal if she kept her routine up. She ignored him and set her book bag down on a work bench and started going through it, looking for a few notes she'd scrawled down about time traveling.

"No response, Ms. Granger?" Snape asked, watching her carefully. He felt like being particularly malevolent to her – he still hadn't gotten over her discovery in the Forbidden Forest and his inability to respond to it. "I must have died and gone to heaven."

He seemed to have touched a nerve, because Hermione forgot her fatigue and turned to face him. "You've died, sir?" she asked, looking him over. "That would explain it – you do look rather…" She let her voice trail off as she made a show of looking him over. "Rather like you've always looked. Can people walk around dead for seven years?"

"Mind your tongue, Ms. Granger," Snape scowled. "Don't force me to cut it out."

The threat seemed to have rolled off of Hermione because she stared evenly at him. "You're very much alive," she said, quietly. "If you'd died, they wouldn't let you into heaven, but if this were your hell, I'd be talking nonstop, wouldn't I?"

Snape looked at her, a malicious glint in his eye. "No, they wouldn't," he said, quietly. "There's a reason they wouldn't let me into heaven, Ms. Granger. Keep talking and I'll show you why."

Hermione gazed evenly at him for a few seconds before quietly turning around to sit down at the desk and continue to look for her notes. Well aware of Snape's eyes boring into the side of her head, she pulled out the notes, and the text she'd been taking notes from and set in front of her. Hopefully, he wouldn't stick her with potions work and she can get more research done.

Snape seemed to be thinking along the same lines. When he saw the title of the volume she had in front of her – the Development of the Time Turner – he decided to leave her be. Getting rid of Charlotte was more important than torturing Hermione Granger. His lip curled into a wry smirk as he observed her. Not so much more important, but important nonetheless. He turned back to his own book – Time Traveling Through-out the Ages – and went to work, a small part of his mind acknowledging that it was comforting to know that someone as intelligent as the young woman sitting a few feet away from him was working on the same problem. She was an improvement on Remus; that he could admit.

A little over fifteen minutes past by before Snape was interrupted. A light tapping sound caught his ears and he looked up with a frown, wondering what it was. There weren't any owls at the window. He searched the room and his eyes finally narrowed in on Hermione's fingers, which she was drumming lightly against the edge of the table she was sitting at. Shaking his head slightly, he turned back to the book, deciding to ignore her.

It couldn't be done.

The beat she was drumming made him think of trotting horses and he looked up with a scowl. "Ms. Granger!" he snapped.

Hermione started and looked up at him. "Professor?"

"Stop that!" he barked, glaring at her hands. Her hands were small and her dainty fingers looked rather weak. He suddenly noticed that her nails, while not overly long, weren't so short. They were neatly rounded and weren't coloured, but were a natural shade of pink, the tips a clean white.

Hermione's fingers froze and her small hand fell silently against the table and Snape looked up to meet her gaze. "Stop what, Sir?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"Stop drumming your fingers against the table, Ms. Granger," Snape clarified in a slow voice.

"So sorry," Hermione muttered, sounding far from apologetic. She turned back to her book.

Snape scowled a bit and went back to his own. His book wasn't much help. It listed different cases of time traveling throughout history, going back as far as the 1700s and all of them ended horribly. The furthest back anyone had traveled before had been twenty-seven years into the past. Charlotte had traveled… How far back had she traveled? The Potions Master frowned, trying to remember. What year had she attended the school for her sixth? Try as he might, he couldn't remember… Bracing himself, he looked up at the resident Know-It-All. "Ms. Granger," he said.

Hermione looked up expectantly at him.

"Exactly how far back has Charlotte come?" Snape asked, putting on a neutral, slightly threatening expression in case she dared comment on his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Twenty-three years," Hermione replied, quickly.

Snape frowned. "You're certain?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hermione nodded. "I did all the calculations last night. I had - " She quickly caught herself, flushed and turned away. She'd been about to say 'I had her at twenty-five,' and continue her findings from there. "I had double checked." She turned and looked back up at him. "Why? What is it?"

Snape let his gaze slide down to his text. "Every single person who has gone back for more than a few years had…" He searched for the right word. "Disappeared."

Hermione's eyebrow furrowed and her lip trembled for half a second. "Disappeared?" she echoed, quietly.

Snape nodded and looked at her soberly. "You understand; it's not safe to have two beings of one person running around at once for a long period of time. Horcruxes are dangerous – a soul becomes weaker as it is split. But it can be outright disastrous to have two full souls of the same person. Along with the logical problems that time traveling can have – messing with events, changing the past, and therefore changing the present, the future, etc, etc – there is also the problem of what it can do to the traveler."

"What can happen to the traveler?" Hermione asked, softly, her eyes shifting to the text in front of him.

"There aren't two Miss Charlotte Semele Spenas here. For that, we can be thankful. There are two known cases where two beings of the same person existed at once. Francesca Ambers and Frederick Humber. Humber lasted about two years; Ambers just a little over that. But in both cases, the traveler's bodies – both of them – became weak and just died. Nothing could cure them."

"We have seven years until she is born," Hermione breathed, sounding just a little relieved.

Snape scowled a little. "We won't have her here for that long," he muttered. "We must send her back sooner."

"What happened to the travelers?"

Snape smirked dryly. "Ambers and Humber were of the earliest travelers. Because of what happened to them, everyone else decided to find a way back to the future as soon as they could. It was crucial that they be sent back because of all the dangers. The problem was that there seemed to be no way to send someone into the future. Every single person who was sent into the future never reappeared in his or her time. Unless the traveler was born again – in that case, the… Order of events, let's call it… Was that the traveler is born in his time, then transported into the past, and then never seen again in his or her own time."

Hermione stared at him. "Why would they… When the person is born, why wouldn't they be watched? Their travel would have been recorded by then. Someone could save them by keeping an eye on them and making sure they don't get sucked into the past - "

"Use your head, woman. If a person drops into the past, his presence will be known. He will be the cause of _something_. Take for example – Albus Dumbledore and Miss Spena. I happen to know Dumbledore was in the middle of a meeting with one the Order's spies at the Ministry and he had to be pulled out of it quickly. He returned and finished the meeting an hour later than expected. Do you know what could have been done in that hour? Even we were to lock Miss Spena up in a room and make sure she never speaks to anyone or gets involved with anything – there'll always be that one hour. That one hour could have caused anything." He stopped and fixed his gaze on her. "The Ministry would sacrifice a person to be stranded in the past because they would be too scared of what may happen to the present if that person isn't sent back in the first place."

"Oh," Hermione murmured quietly. "So… Out of all the theories to send someone into the future, none of them have worked. The traveler just disappears? He's never seen again?"

Snape nodded. There was a twisting at the back of his gut. He shuffled a little and changed his position in his large leather chair, but it didn't do the trick. Left over effects from the last battle; maybe he needed more pepper-up or amdiya…

Hermione was staring at a blank parchment, trying to think. She remembered her third year, getting round to all of her classes, trying to be careful not to bump into herself. It was a hard concept to wrap ones mind around… When she'd first tried grasping it, she'd drawn a little diagram. She picked up her quill and drew two straight horizontal lines, one right beneath the other. Everything is happening at once… While she and Professor Snape sat here in her time, trying to figure out how to send Charlotte back, her future self and Severus Spena were currently, _at this very moment_, reacting to Charlotte's slip into the past. She drew a little stick figure on the top line with a miniature time glass in her stick hand. The stick figure would turn it and – Hermione drew a line from the stick figure on the top line to a space on the second line and her figure disappeared off the first line and reappeared on the second – fall through to another time period. The stick figure is now on the second line, but the first line goes on. It was all happening at once.

Putting her quill down, she turned to the Potions Master. "So what do you think is the best theory they've had?"

"Why would it matter?" Snape returned. "They were all failures."

"I was just wondering," Hermione said, turning back to her book. A few seconds past in silence and surprisingly, Snape answered her question.

"The first one they had. A simple Reversal Charm on the traveler's time turner. Charming an object to do the opposite of what it is meant to do." he said without looking up. "It was simple, straight forward and should have worked. Except it didn't."

Hermione shrugged. "Reversal charms can mess with an object's way of working," she said. A thought hit her and she looked at him. "Did they try it just that one time?"

Snape scowled. "Of course. If a person disappears by taking an action, one tends not to copy said action."

Hermione shook her head. "But that was for time traveling years into the future. What if I tried the Reversal Charm on a regular time turner and tried going an hour into the future?"

Snape stared at her for a second. The thought hadn't occurred to him – it couldn't have been done in the past because the only time turner available was the one that'd come with the traveler. They didn't have others to test with. What could happen…? It was a dangerous idea. He narrowed his eyes, searching her expression. She was completely serious. A slow, sadistic smile formed across his lips. "Be my guest," he purred.

Hermione, who'd realized the danger of what she would do, scowled at his tone. "I haven't a time turner," she said icily.

Never moving his eyes from hers, Snape just pulled a drawer open, pulled out a time turner and tossed it to her. Hermione caught it neatly and looked up at him, surprised.

"I ordered a few when this situation rose," Snape stated. He nodded at the time turner. "Go ahead."

Hermione smiled sweetly at him and turned around before she killed him with the deadly expression she _wanted_ to give him. Settling down, she started performing the enchantments of the Reversal Charm.

Snape got up and moved behind her, watching her progress over her shoulder. Smirking inwardly, he said, "I really don't understand what Flitwick goes on about. Your movements are _choppy_ at best."

Hermione scowled, but tried to keep her anger in check. She gave her wand a swish and murmured, "My movements are _divine_." Downward swish, upward flick, downward flick, rightward flick…

Suddenly, Snape's velvety voice was in her ear. "Prove it," he said, lowly.

Hermione started, a shiver running down her spine, and faltered in a swish and then flushed angrily when she felt – she _felt_, for god's sake – him smirk triumphantly and move away from her. She probably should have seen his intentions to provoke her with those questions, but honestly… Why does he go out of his way to screw with her?

Finishing with the charm, Hermione stood up, looking at the time turner thoughtfully. "It's done," she murmured.

Snape eyed her expression from the door, which he'd been about to ward. "What is it?" he asked, warding the door and walking back to her. Could she be having second thoughts?

"I'm just wondering… Where would I be for the one hour? In the past, there was always another me running around. But when I travel into the future – where do I go? Do I just blink out of existence?"

Snape shifted his eyes to the time turner in her hands and wondered at her words. She was right – for the one hour she'd be gone, there would be no Miss Granger, no insufferable Know-It-All. She simply wouldn't… Exist. He waited for the plethora of exhilarating joy to hit him… But nothing happened. If anything, he suddenly felt void of emotion; even his normal pessimism was gone. It felt strangely… Empty.

"Professor?" Hermione asked, her voice cautious.

"What?" Snape asked, monotonously, eyeing her carefully. He could only see the top of her head – her eyes were fixed firmly on the time turner. There were twin flashes of shining rosin when she glanced up at him for a half as second and then, her curls bounced a little as she shook her head.

"In case I don't get back," she mumbled. "I mean, I _should_ get back. Every sign says I should get back." She paused for a second and gently bit at her lip. "But in case I don't, I really want to know two things."

Snape suddenly felt a little twinge between his eyebrows. He cursed inwardly and brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose. The twinge would eventually grow into a full-fledged migraine. It usually did when Granger started saying something that started with "I wanted to know…" or "I wanted to ask you…"

Hermione chewed lightly at her lower lip, wondering how to phrase her first question. She'd wanted to know if she'd managed to impress him at all with her academic achievements over the past seven years, but how the hell would she ask him that? 'So, Sir, do you think I'm _smart_?' She sighed inwardly. She'd received nothing but Os from him throughout her life, and that had to mean something, didn't it?

There was always that other question. Something that had been bugging her way too much for her liking. It seemed such a small thing, but she was desperate to know and put it from her head. She didn't know why it bothered her so, but fixing this particular problem was like trying to get a perfect mark in Snape's class. No matter how good something seemed to be, there was a small part of her that knew it wasn't utterly perfect until he deemed it so. She hated feeling this way, but she did. And she didn't know how, or even if she could, shake off this stupid little meaningless completely irrelevant dumb little…

Hermione drew her breath and looked up to face Snape, bracing herself. "I want to know one thing."

Snape moved his hand away from his face and met her gaze. "What?" he asked, evenly.

"Aremyfrontteethstillbiggerthanmyotherteeth?"

Snape stared at down at her. "Pardon?" he said, with a bit of a scowl.

Hermione held his gaze evenly. "Sorry. I said, are my front teeth still bigger than my other teeth?"

Snape stared at her. The girl was obviously working much too hard, and had lost of her sense of reason, ergo her current inability to prioritize her problems. But he didn't voice this line of reasoning and simply cocked his head and observed her. She was completely serious and showed no other signs of mental retardation. She was serious. She was completely and utterly serious. A dangerous glitter formed in his eyes and he smirked. "Your teeth?" he asked.

Hermione glanced away, uncertainly before rediscovering her courage and giving him a nod.

Snape regarded her for a second and then inclined his head before raising his thumb to her lower lip. "Let me see."

Hermione felt a jolt go through her at the feeling of the warm, callused skin of his thumb – so unlike anything she'd felt before, different from Viktor's smooth skin or her parents' latex gloves – against her soft lip, and opened her mouth a bit in surprise. There was a fluttering at the bottom of her stomach that grew wilder when he lightly brushed her lip before propping it open some more. She glanced down at his hand, and, trying to drag her thoughts away from the feeling of his thumb on her lip, she looked up at him and watched him. His obsidian eyes were narrowed in concentration, and that smug, amused smirk was gone. His mouth was set and pulled back, also in concentration. He prodded her lip a bit lower and a shiver went through her again. She must have gasped outwardly because his eyes flickered to meet hers for a second before he turned back.

Snape spent a good minute just studying her mouth. He told himself that he was checking if her teeth were right – it really seemed to matter to her. And her best interest was in his best interests, wasn't it? Because who else could help him with the Charlotte dilemma? Even as he told himself that, his gaze was fixed on her lips and not her teeth, for a large portion of that minute. She had a small mouth, and her lips were full, coloured a shade of magenta that went well with her gold-touched skin. He'd heard her gasp a little and he'd glanced up at her eyes to find them… Rather hot… A quick legilimens glance into her mind confirmed that she liked the feeling of his thumb against her lip and he almost started outwardly when the realization hit him.

She hadn't even noticed his quick dive into her mind. He turned his gaze back to her teeth. Every single voice in his head – 'every single voice?' Had he gone schizophrenic now? – was telling him to do something that common sense was urging him _not_ to do. To the Snape Angel and Snape Devil's irritation, he decided to listen to reason.

"I don't know about your teeth," Snape drawled, trying to sound as calm as possible.

Hermione started visibly and blinked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know about your teeth," Snape repeated. He took his thumb away from her lip. "They are, no doubt, more human now and less like those of a hare, but believe me, Miss Granger. I wouldn't know. I am no dentist."

Hermione stared up at him and for a second, her footing on the Earth was lost. But then she regained it. Thinking of the yellow tint to his teeth, she smirked. "No doubt," she returned.

Snape frowned, wondering what she was talking about. He looked into her eyes and tried reading her mind, but her occlumency was working again.

Hermione glanced the clock. It was almost 3:30pm. The minute hand was nearing the large black 6. "Well, here I go," Hermione murmured, putting the time turner on. She looked up at him for half a second, with a shy, almost expectant, expression. But then it was gone. Just as she was about to flip it, Snape's hand suddenly closed around hers, stopping her. "Sir?" she asked, looking up at him.

Snape stared at his hand, as if he didn't know why he'd done that. Actually, he didn't, but he'd go through a thousand meetings with the Dark Lord before admitting it to the woman before him. "It's too dangerous," he heard himself say. "I can't let you do it." He felt her loosen her grip on the time turner and let her go. "We'll put it on an inanimate object," he said, walking round to the other side of the table.

Hermione stared at him incredulously before nodding slowly. "Okay. Fine," she said. She picked up her wand off the table, her hand trembling a bit and waved it, conjuring a doll out of thin air.

Snape looked at the doll and then raised an eyebrow at Hermione, who was placing the time turner around the 20-inch long brunette figurine. "Is that supposed to be you?" he asked, eyeing the scantily clad doll with disapproval. She had Hermione's long brown hair – straight, however – and sort of tanned skin.

Hermione blinked up at him, clearly surprised. From her expression, Snape figured that he'd guessed wrong, but Hermione found the need to enlighten him. "Of course, not," she frowned. She waved a hand at the doll. "That -" She faltered. "That's Barbie." Seeing the blank look Snape was giving her, Hermione opened her mouth to explain, but the Potions Master waved a hand, cutting her off.

"I don't want to know," Snape scowled. He glanced at… Barbie… and quickly diverted his eyes. If he looked at it again, he would start wondering if … Barbie – what the hell kind of name was 'Barbie?' ... had other things in common with Hermione. He shook his head when he realized that his thoughts were going There again. 'Dumbledore and Voldemort, Dumbledore and Voldemort…' he chanted to himself.

"Here we go…" Hermione suddenly murmured.

Snape brought his attention back to her. She had the time turner in her hands and glanced up at him before flipping it. Barbie disappeared. "And now we wait," Snape muttered.

"For fifteen minutes," Hermione added.

They stood awkwardly at the table and a moment passed, before a thought struck Hermione. "So…" She murmured, looking intently out the window. "Spy, huh?" she asked.

Snape looked at her with an irritated expression. "Yes, Ms. Granger."

Hermione chewed at her lip, still not meeting his gaze. Her cheeks had a tinge of pink to them. "Do you know a Severus… Or something, who's a spy?" she mumbled.

Snape scowled, wondering where these questions were coming from. "_I'm_ a Severus. Who's a spy."

Hermione outright blushed, remembering him looking into her mouth and the feeling of his thumb of her lip. She tried not to think about it – it wouldn't do to crush on him while there was someone else she was supposed to marry and have a family with. She shook her head, but her cheeks didn't cool. She was about to beg him to list all the Death Eater spies in the Order when all of a sudden, there was a clatter behind her.

"What was that?" Snape asked, looking around her.

Hermione's eyes zeroed in on a counter against the wall where Barbie was laying face down, the time turner chain around her waist and the hourglass hanging off the edge. "What…?" she murmured, going to it and picking the doll up.

"It's only been two minutes," Snape said, glancing up at a muggle clock on the wall.

Hermione turned the doll over in her hands. It seemed fine. But who could really tell with plastic? "It must take more power to travel forward in time rather than back," she said.

"Obviously," Snape said, cuttingly. He glanced at the counter. "Why did it reappear on the counter?"

"I… Don't…" All of a sudden, the room grew considerably darker. Hermione glanced out of the window to see that the sun had disappeared behind a giant tree, and its shadow now fell into the room. The darkness, however, could have been lit up by the metaphorical light bulb that'd just appeared over Hermione's head. "The earth moves," she muttered quietly.

"Pardon?" Snape asked, dryly.

"The earth moves," Hermione repeated, holding up the hour glass. "Time traveling for a long time into the past – one can only do it by years. No one has ever traveled a few months into the past because, not only is that how time turners are built – a lucky coincidence, an extremely lucky coincidence – but if they did, they would have reappeared at _exactly the same spot they left from_!" Snape only looked blankly at her. It was a strange expression – she'd never seen it on him. It was rather scary however, and she rushed to explain further. "The earth rotates and moves around the sun. There are 365 days in a year – that's how long it takes for one orbit. If we'd tried to send this doll, not for months or years like they did in the past, but for even for a few days, she would have reappeared exactly where she'd disappeared but that spot would have been located somewhere in empty space because the planet has moved on by then!"

Of course. Travelers of the past assumed it would take the same amount of powder to travel forward than it did to go backward. So when they tried to go forward a year – when the earth would be where it should be after one full orbit – the powder only had enough dust to take the traveler… A few months? The traveler would have reappeared in space and just… Suffocated to death. He imagined that happening to Charlotte and suddenly felt sick. "So… We would have to…" He frowned, forcing himself to think. "Calculate how much powder to put into a time turner…"

Hermione nodded. "It won't be easy. The answer won't just come to us."

Suddenly, there was a rapping on the door.

"Enter!" Snape called.

The door swung open and slammed slightly into the wall. It was almost like how Snape opened it every day he came into the room. And no wonder why, the Potions Master thought with a small scowl, when he saw who was on the other side.

Charlotte walked in, looking stoic and almost bored. She smiled a little when she saw Hermione. "Hello. Apparently, Draco Malfoy is so weak that he'd drop dead from a light tap to the head," she reported, her voice heavy with sarcasm. She took in Snape and Hermione's bewildered faces. "His cronies, Harry and Luna have dragged him off to the hospital wing." She paused. "If I go to Azkaban, you'll still try to send me back to the future, right?"

For a second, neither Snape nor Hermione reacted. Then Snape slapped the table hard enough to make both young women start visibly. "You idiot girl!" he growled at Charlotte. All he and Dumbledore needed right now was for Lucius Malfoy to get wind of this and start an investigation on who Charlotte was and where she came from.

Charlotte's eyes widened at his tone and she stumbled in, moving closer to Hermione, all traces of her previous attitude gone.

"You _hit_ him?!" Snape demanded.

"Well, he was asking for it!" Charlotte said, feeling Hermione's hand on her arm. "He was being horrid to Luna and then he said -"

Snape turned to Hermione. "Take her back to her dorm!" he snapped before raging out of the room.

Hermione turned to Charlotte, shock written clearly on her face. "You hit him?" she asked, quietly.

Charlotte nodded. "Honestly, he was -"

Hermione shushed her with a wave of her hand. "It's okay, Charlotte," she murmured. "I understand."

Charlotte blinked. "You do?"

"Perfectly."

xXx

Snape thundered down the halls, intent on getting to the hospital wing and obliviating Malfoy before he had a chance to send a message to his father. However, his attention was diverted by a strange noise coming from the dark hall where his wardrobe was hidden. He stopped and stared into the darkness. The strange, banging noise… It was coming from where the wardrobe should be.

xXx

"Come, I'll walk you back to your room," Hermione said.

"I can go by myself," Charlotte said, following her.

"No. Crabbe and Goyle may have informed the rest of their house, and they'd be hounding for your blood right now," Hermione answered, leading her out of the room. "Besides, I know a short cut."

"Okay," Charlotte smiled. "Where?"

"You'll love this – it's where you fell on me on your first day here."

xXx

Snape was so engrossed by the banging – what the hell was it? – that he didn't even hear Hermione and Charlotte enter the corridor a few meters behind him. Had someone discovered its magic? Had someone apparated to it? He shook the thought off. Maybe it was Remus. Remus could be dumb enough to play with and get himself trapped inside. Yes, it was probably Remus.

A flick of his hand and the fake wall disappeared. Snape threw the doors open and a teenager fell out, stumbling into the Potions Professor. Snape stumbled back a few steps before catching his footing and getting a firm grip on the boy's shoulder. The boy stepped back, looking bewildered and raised his face and met Snape's eyes and the Potions Master had to fight back a gasp.

It wasn't Remus.

It was him.

Well, almost him.

It was him. With brown hair that only came, in neat, non-greasy gelled waves to the bottom of his ears rather than to his shoulders. Also, he was wearing the school uniform with a prefect badge. Otherwise, it was him.

A gasp to Snape's left made both men look over.

Hermione was looking at the new arrival in confusion. He looked gorgeous – but he looked like Snape. How would one go about looking like Snape and looking gorgeous at the same time?

Charlotte's astounded step forward and her next word answered Hermione's question. "Jason."

Hermione turned to Jason, bewildered. _That_ was Jason? Okay, that explained why he was gorgeous – crows and hatchlings – but why did he look like Snape? Why, oh why, did he look so much like Snape?

Jason smirked at Charlotte, looking rather tired. "It's been over two hours, Charlotte," he muttered in greeting.

"What?!" Snape demanded. He whipped around to look at the young Slytherin, who whipped back to the Potions Master at exactly the same time. For a second, the two just stared at each other.

A sign of recognition crossed Jason's eyes. He leaned forward a bit, uncertain of his deduction. "Father?"

"_What_?!" Both Hermione and Charlotte shrieked this at once.

Charlotte stared at Snape, her mind having thrown off Dumbledore's enchantments. As he'd warned Hermione, one big discovery would enlighten her to _everything_. "Oh, no…" She said, weakly, turning away from her father to look at the floor as she suddenly remembered her recent behaviour – all the attitude, sass and talkback. "I am dead…" She murmured, stepping back a bit.

"What?!" This time, Hermione shrieked solo. Her amber eyes were wide as saucers. She stared from Charlotte to Snape and back again, not knowing how to react. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she suddenly felt quite dizzy.

Jason was staring inquisitively at Hermione. His eyes adjusted to the dark and he inhaled sharply as he recognized her. "Mother?!" he exclaimed.

"What?!" This time, it was Snape. He was staring, mouth agape at Hermione, who couldn't take her eyes off of Jason. He was starting to feel quite dizzy, as well.

Charlotte's head snapped up and she also stared at Hermione. "Oh, bloody hell…" she said quietly, stepping away from the older girl.

Hermione snapped out of her daze and glanced at Charlotte, before shifting her eyes to Jason, and then back to Charlotte. She couldn't decide which of them to stare at or how to react, so, following some unconscious decision, she let her gaze travel to Snape, who always seemed to know what to do.

Unfortunately for Hermione, Snape was at as much a loss as Hermione was and had decided that _she_ would be the one to deal with the situation. He turned to look expectantly at her.

Their eyes met and both froze, realizing that the other had no idea what to do. Both would have murdered – each other or Harry (screw the war) or even attempted one on Voldemort – to get out of this awkward situation. Save for the faintness, neither was really affected by the other. It all felt too surreal. Right now, the most important thing in the whole wide world was that _someone_ says _something_.

"They aren't together right now, are they?"

That would… Suffice.

Charlotte scowled at her brother. "Of course, not."

Jason scrutinized his parents with an irritated frown. "Can they say anything else besides the word 'what?'"

Hermione had the sudden urge to giggle through her stunned silence as the thought hit her – 'Oh, look. Snape's cutting sarcasm – no – charming wit is genetic.'

Snape found his voice and he gave his son a menacing look. "How are you here?" he asked, evenly.

Jason shifted nervously before reaching into his book bag and pulling out a roll of parchment. "I am to give you this. And request that you start tying back your hair," he reported, holding it out.

Snape whipped it away from him, giving the boy a raised eyebrow at the last request. He unrolled the parchment – it was a message. From himself. His future self seemed as unfavourable to chitchat as he was. The only "message" on it was a method for… Compressing time turning powder and making it more powerful. The final instruction was "put it into a time turner under the Reversal charm and flip it eight times. Use the time turner that was on" – his writing got a little strange here – "Barbie."

Snape ran his eyes over it and turned to Hermione. "A way to send them back," he muttered, turning back to the parchment. He suddenly scowled. "It'll take about two weeks to complete." He started to leave. "I'll go get started."

"What do Charlotte and I do?" Jason asked, looking around at the three of them.

Snape and Hermione started. They'd forgotten about the two… Hermione inwardly grimaced – forgetting her children. _Quite motherly there, Hermione…_

Once again faced with the awkward silence, Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a migraine coming on to keep his faintness company.

Suddenly, Hermione spoke, addressing Charlotte and Jason, though she was staring at the parchment in Snape's hand. "Go to the headmaster's office," she said, quietly. "You'll have to tell him."

Jason only stared disbelievingly at Hermione, but Charlotte grabbed his hand and started pulling him out of the corridor. To Jason's questioning look, she only shot him a withering glare that warned him to shut up. Charlotte herself was still taken back that she'd been an outright brat to her father for the past few days; she didn't know if disobeying Hermione, her mother, would get her into more hot water since she technically wasn't her mother yet, but the Ravenclaw wasn't keen on finding out.

Back in the corridor, Snape and Hermione were once again drowning in the awkward silence. Apparently, getting rid of their children only made the situation worse. Hermione didn't know what to think – the fluttering in her stomach was back and it was more wild than usual. Her cheeks were extremely hot and she knew she must be beet red in the face, and thanked God that the corridor was dark enough that it might hide it. And she felt so. Incredibly. Faint. She just wanted to crumble to the floor and sleep…

"This is too much," she suddenly heard Snape mutter as he put the parchment away into his robes.

She murmured something like "Mmhm," in response.

"It's a lot of information to take within two minutes. I feel like I want to faint," Snape was muttering.

Hermione suddenly felt a surge of irritation hit her and she swirled around to face the Potions Master. She whipped her wand out and stomped up to him, until the tip was in his chest. "No!" she snapped.

Snape, bewildered, looked down at her curiously. She wouldn't hex him – she would never hex him. He would give her so many detentions if she did… "No?" he scowled.

"No!" Hermione hissed, her eyes flashing. "This is too much for _me_. Not you. _Me_. I've been doing school work, infirmary work and helping you for the past week with no complaint, despite my lack of sleep. I deserved to faint, but I didn't – because you're either fighting with Charlotte or fighting the war or fighting for your life and I needed to be awake. And when I found about Charlotte – I wanted to faint then, but the headmaster wouldn't let me. Now… _Now_…" She didn't know how to continue. Snape started to say something, but she poked him in the chest with her wand. "No, don't! Don't even… You. Don't. Faint. Alright?! _I._ Faint." With that, she dropped her wand and collapsed against him, dead to the world.

Snape hurriedly caught her, before she slid down to the floor. He hadn't seen her outburst coming and it'd been a new side to her. At least, it'd killed the awkward silence. As he numbly gathered her up in his arms, holding her bridal style, so that he could take her to the infirmary, he couldn't help but be thankful that, if he was to have a family… If… It would be with her and not… Who knew? Rosmerta? Hooch? Hermione moved the slightest bit and nestled the side of her face against his chest, and, try as he might, he couldn't help feeling… Filled. He didn't feel empty anymore.

And as that mushy, gushy thought settled, a new emotion hit him. Fear. He was scared. Scared to death. He looked down at the girl in his arms. She was less than half his size, but she was the scariest thing in the world – Well, she did have two hell Childs, who were currently in Dumbledore's office, supporting her. Yes, she and those two were the scariest things in the world… Voldemort was asking his magic mirror at this very second who was the most frightful of them all, and was shaking in shock at the response. Snape was so blindingly scared, he didn't realize he was at the infirmary until he was already there. Once he got to a bed, he all but threw Hermione into it before rushing away to get to his private chambers, so that he could get as heavily drunk as quickly as possible.

xXxXxXx

A/N

There. I've made up for the long absence – now things can get _interesting_.

Next chapter:

- Snape has a chat with Jason and Charlotte

- Hermione has a chat with Jason

- SSHG action speeds up and gets hot

Review!

Luv

Creatress


	12. Jason

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Oh, sweet Dark Lord, I've taken another month to update… I'm sorry, so, so sorry. I swear the next chapter will be out before April ends.

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 12

Jason

"Father looks different…" Jason's voice trailed off and Charlotte had to smile a bit. They'd half walked/half jogged half way across the castle in silence, even though both must have millions of questions. Charlotte still had her brother's hand in her grip, and though it would have made sense to just let him go, she didn't. Right now, he seemed like the only real thing in her world – the only thing that was clear, familiar and set in stone. She wished he wasn't so annoying.

"It's twenty-three years into the past. Of course, he'll look different." She stopped and turned to look at him. "Is that why you asked him to start tying his hair back?"

Jason shrugged a shoulder, glancing away. He turned back to her and nodded. "Maybe. He looks more familiar that way."

A smiled flickered across Charlotte's lips before she shrugged. "Uncle Remus is here, too."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Anyone else we know?"

"Our godparents," Charlotte said, ticking them off her fingers. "Aren't together," she added. "Uncle Ronald - " She ticked him off her next finger and frowned, wrinkling her nose. " – is dating Madam Rosmerta, apparently."

Jason's eyes narrowed and he frowned, deeply. "That – that would mean - "

Charlotte put on a bored expression and shrugged. "That Antoinette will never be born. But that's okay, since you don't like her." Not giving Jason a chance to respond about the girl, Charlotte charged on. "Uncle Remus says he'll never have children, so Teddy's gone. I don't even think he's with Aunt Dora - "

"Are _all_ of our friends dead?" Jason demanded. He paused then and looked carefully at his sister. "No…" he muttered. "They can't be doomed, because you're too calm."

"Am I?" Charlotte asked, sarcastically.

Jason frowned at her. "Else, you'd be running around in black, mourning Tom." He took a cautionary step back and he smirked, eyes glittering as his voice took on a girlish high-pitched tone. "Oohh," he moaned. "Oh, Tom, you're gone. Now how can we have hot sex with you gone, how?" He ducked away from Charlotte's hand as she reached out to slap him and took his wand out when she took hers out.

For half a second, they just stood there, wands out, staring at each other evenly. Jason still had a hint of a smile on his face. Charlotte felt her lips twitching, and after a few moments of fighting it, she broke out into a smile and then laughed out loud. Jason raised an eyebrow at her in question, wondering if she'd gone insane as she leaned against the wall, laughing. Before the Slytherin had a chance to react, his sister had shot up to him and had him wrapped in a hug.

"Charlotte!" Jason exclaimed, trying to twist out of her grasp and failing.

Charlotte pecked the side of his face and ignored him when he recoiled as if she'd burned him. "My idiotic baby brother," she laughed, still hugging him. "You don't know how glad I am to see you."

Jason finally managed to shove her away with a scowl. "How bad do things have to be here before _you're_ glad to see _me_?"

Charlotte slowly rolled her eyes, thoughtfully. "Well… On my first day, I crushed Mother, and then got sent to the hospital wing. On my second, I met Aunt Luna…"

xXx

Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, nervously chewing at some lemon drops and doing headmaster stuff when there was a knock at his door. "Come in!" The door flew open. "Oh no…" Dumbledore muttered Charlotte entered the room, with a young man in tow. He'd never seen Jason before, but there was no mistaking who the boy was. He looked just like his father, but with brown hair that made his face look a little less pale and slender. He graced the two with a grin. "Sit, sit. What have we here?" he asked.

"This is my brother," Charlotte said, ignoring the invitation to sit and pushing Jason forward.

"I'd figured," Dumbledore muttered.

Jason stared at him with an unreadable expression for a second before nodding. "Sir," he said, by way of greeting.

Dumbledore had to smile at his demeanor. "Mr. Snape. May I ask what happened?" he asked.

Charlotte turned to look at Jason expectantly and the younger boy shifted a little uncomfortably. "It was strange. I'm not entirely sure of what happened," Jason muttered. "After I came back to the lab to get my potion for submitting it, it was fine. I didn't see you, so I figured that everything was okay…" Jason was trying to choose his words carefully. Charlotte had told him that the headmaster knew that they'd tried to cheat his way out of his project and he was more than a little nervous as to what the older man's reaction would be.

"Your potion was okay? There was Evanesce there?" Charlotte frowned, raising an eyebrow. "But we never made it back…" A horrified look past her face and she suddenly grabbed Jason's arm. "Tom! He was stuck at our house!"

Jason shook his head. "It's okay. I saw him at school. He looked…" Jason frowned. "Stressed, let's say. I didn't have a chance to talk to him."

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

"Because Father was dragging me outside," Jason supplied, wryly.

Charlotte and Dumbledore glanced confusedly at each other before the Ravenclaw turned to her brother with a small scowl. "What are you talking about?!" she demanded.

"You'd understand if you stopped interrupting!" Jason snapped.

"This," Dumbledore interrupted. "Is obviously a long and complicated story. Why don't you both sit down and calm yourselves?" As expected, he pulled out his little pouch. "Lemon drops?" Both Snapes shook their heads as they sat, eyeing the pouch warily. "Suit yourselves," Dumbledore shrugged. He turned to look at Jason. "Now, Jason. Go ahead. Start from when you left your morning DADA class. You had to submit your Evanesce right after, I presume?"

Jason nodded. "I went back to the lab and everything was fine, so I – stupidly, I now realize – assumed that Charlotte had done something right for once."

Charlotte scowled at him, but chose not to say anything. Dumbledore popped a few more lemon drops into his mouth to hide the small smile he was fighting. It looked like Jason had inherited more from his father than just physical similarities.

"I went to Potions," Jason continued. "Submitted the Evanesce. Everything was fine. About fifteen minutes later, though, I got pulled out of class by my father and yourself. No one explained anything to me." He turned to Charlotte. "Father was horribly angry. Sorry for sounding juvenile, but you, dear sister, are in _so_ much trouble," he smirked.

Charlotte's scowl darkened considerably, but she refused to say anything.

Dumbledore popped a few more of the candies into his mouth. "I wonder why…" he mused around them. He knew why – Severus should have been expecting one of his children to pop into the past. He probably pulled his son away to demand what he knew. He remembered Charlotte's story of her trip and how Severus had returned to the labs to check on something. Had he returned because he was expecting Charlotte? Why hadn't Hermione expected likewise? With a frown, he gestured at Jason to continue.

"We went through that fireplace - " Jason nodded at Dumbledore's fireplace – "and got back to Father's lab." He turned back to Charlotte, but this time, there was no amusement or teasing when he spoke. His voice was completely somber. "Mother was upset."

Charlotte looked at him. "Upset?" she echoed.

"Crying," he clarified.

Charlotte looked at him for a second before her stomach clenched a little. "She found out what we did?" she mused, feeling uncomfortable. No child wanted to make her mother cry.

"No, you _told_ her what we did," Jason pointed out. "A few days ago, remember?" He scowled. "Thanks for incriminating everybody," he hissed.

"So she should know I'm not hurt. Why would she be so upset?" Charlotte frowned.

"She _knows_ you're not hurt. She's upset because she thinks we'll be expelled," Jason stated, exasperated. He froze when he realized what he'd just said and he and his sister turned expectantly to look at the headmaster.

"Now, now," Dumbledore said, his tone serious. "I think what Charlotte has gone through with her time traveling is harsh punishment enough. We'll discuss what to do with you later, Jason." He leaned back in his chair. "For now, continue."

"He gave me a roll of parchment, and told me find either himself or a Severus Spena and give the parchment to him. Then, he made me drink something blue – he said it was a powerful time potion – and put me in the wardrobe. Here I am now."

"Where's this parchment?" Dumbledore frowned.

"I gave it to Father. He was there when I came out of the wardrobe," Jason replied.

Dumbledore turned to Charlotte with wide eyes.

"I know," Charlotte answered his unasked question. Her eyes narrowed a little, as she grew quite irritated that he'd changed her memories. "Everything. So do my parents."

For half a second, it was like someone had sucked the air out of the room. Dumbledore looked from Charlotte to Jason and back again in shock, rather like Snape and Hermione had done, before leaning back in his chair and massaging his forehead. "How… How did they react?" he asked, bracing himself.

Charlotte and Jason exchanged glances. "I think they took it rather well," Charlotte ventured.

Dumbledore straightened and looked the girl in the eye. "No, Charlotte. Never. Your parents never take anything well." He scrambled up. "I have to go find your father before he does something..." His voice trailed off as he realized exactly who he was talking to. No point in him scaring the two teenagers in the room – Severus should be able to do that fine enough by himself in the future. "I'll call Prof. McGonagall and your uncle here. Tell them what you told me and they should take care of your classes, and other business."

"We'll still be attending school?" Jason inquired.

"Your parents must be in a mental shock and experiencing an emotional hurricane. However, they would stop everything to make sure that you stay in school," Dumbledore stated as he walked to the fireplace.

"There's no point; I've been doing fourth year stuff for the last few days," Charlotte pointed out quietly.

Jason gave her a slight smirk before turning to Dumbledore. "Exactly what's so bad about finding out that you'll have children?" he asked.

"Especially children like us?" Charlotte smirked.

Dumbledore stared at the two for a second. "This day was going so great," he muttered, eyeing them warily. He turned away, pinched a bit of floo powder and threw it into the flames. "Prof. McGonagall finally forgave me. She actually got me a whole new bag of lemon drops this morning as a peace offering. And then, I convinced a horcrux to switch sides. So great…"

Jason glanced at Charlotte and then looked earnestly at Dumbledore. "But… That happened in early April."

"It _is_ early April," Charlotte muttered.

"It was June at home," Jason said, frowning.

"Dear Merlin," Dumbledore breathed. "I am so sick and tired of _dates_."

Charlotte 'mmhmed' her accord, but, fortunately for Dumbledore's sake, she didn't have a chance to make further comments before McGonagall's head appeared in the embers. The headmaster asked her to come up to his office as soon as possible. He then reached Lupin and managed the words "Jason's here" before the fire flashed green and the werewolf rushed into the room. He was followed closely by McGonagall.

As soon as she saw him, McGonagall gasped, clutched at her heart and fell into a chair. She sat shocked, staring at Jason as if he were a ghost. Obviously, she'd recognized him.

Lupin only stared at Jason and for a long second, did nothing but gawk. Jason held their gazes for a few seconds before growing bored. He leaned in closer to Charlotte. "Why does Uncle Remus look so old?" he hissed.

Lupin, having heard, threw up his arms in exasperation before breaking out into a grin and throwing his arms around Jason. It took the young boy a few seconds to squirm out of his grasp, much to Charlotte's amusement.

Jason caught Charlotte's smirk and scowled. "People keep hugging me," he grumbled, rather petulantly.

McGonagall gathered her wits. "So, I suppose we'll resort him. Get his supplies together and send him off to classes tomorrow," she reported, clinically. "A glamour would be needed, else someone will recognize him."

"This should be interesting," Lupin muttered, retrieving the Sorting Hat and walking to Jason with it.

"Why must I be resorted?" Jason frowned.

"Just do it," Charlotte grumbled, eyeing the hat.

Jason gave her a questioning look before sitting still as Lupin neared him with the hat. However, the hat barely grazed the hairs on Jason's head before it exclaimed, "Slytherin!"

Everyone froze and the hat frowned when Lupin dropped it on Jason's head and the Slytherin grabbed it off. Feeling the demand for an explanation, the hat opened its mouth to give his reasons. "In the span of the last two hours, this boy has attempted to cheat on a major project, sent his sister across the country, traveled through time, exhausted his mother, scared the hell out of his father, talked back to the headmaster, shocked the deputy headmistress into conniptions, and made fun of a professor's appearance. However, he will not be punished for any of these things, for he _will_ talk his way out of them." The hat then paused. "Also, there's a desire for his father's approval."

"Figures," Dumbledore muttered.

Lupin only laughed and took the hat away from Jason.

"Where are you going?" McGonagall asked Dumbledore, who had thrown another pinch of floo powder into the fireplace.

Dumbledore looked at her soberly. "Jason will tell you soon enough. Severus now knows who his children's mother is. I'm going to go and talk to him." He stepped through the fireplace before McGonagall could question him and appeared in the Potion Master's rooms. "Severus!" he moaned, exasperated when he saw what the Potions Master was doing.

"Stop it," Snape snarled as he flicked his wand at his liquor cabinet. "I don't want to hear it." He frowned when he saw that his wards weren't coming down. "Why won't it open?!" He cast another alohomora at it.

"Severus, you won't drink your problems away," Dumbledore said, frowning. "Madam Pomfrey and I always add wards to it after you get hurt. We don't like it when you risk mixing alcohol with potions."

"I'm fine now! Take them down!" Snape snapped, turning to face the headmaster.

"Why don't you start on the potion to send your children back?" Dumbledore asked, looking around the professor's rooms.

"It's in the lab," Snape growled. "Time turning powder must be boiled in salt water and Green-horned dragons' blood for two days."

"Ah, that make sense," Dumbledore mumbled, absent-mindedly. He eyed the cabinet. "What if your children catch you?"

"They won't," Snape stated. "I plan to stay in here, shut away from the world for a very long time."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. "Fancy some company?" he asked.

"No."

Dumbledore eyed the cabinet. "I'll open your cabinet for you," he offered.

Snape eyed the headmaster. "Why would you want to stay with me?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Not me. A new addition to the Order. I think you would like him. He's very quiet."

Snape stared at him for a second before breaking into a fierce scowl. "Not Jason."

"They won't be part of the Order. They'll be gone soon," Dumbledore said. "But…" A slow smile spread across his face. "You'll need to talk to this young man sooner or later, from what Charlotte has told me."

"What has that girl told you?" Snape asked. The headmaster didn't respond, only shrugged and smiled a little and the Potions Master eyed him warily. "Why would you want me to spend time with this man?"

"I'm afraid that if I leave him to himself, he may commit suicide," Dumbledore said.

An irritated look crossed Snape's face. "If he allows me, I'll commit the unforgivable on him myself."

"Share your drink with him. I'll pay you back later."

Snape shrugged, conceding. "Fine."

Dumbledore took his wand out and unwarded the cabinet, inclining his head at the Potions Master. "I'll send him. Shacklebolt is watching him now."

"I do not care who is watching him," Snape grumbled, his voice petulant.

Dumbledore suddenly remembered the last place he'd heard that petulant tone and smiled slowly, but chose not to say anything. "How was Hermione?"

"I was under the impression that you would leave after you opened my cabinet," Snape stated, flopping into his armchair.

"At least, tell me where she is," Dumbledore said, suddenly feeling exasperated.

"Hospital wing," Snape answered. He smirked, twistedly at the headmaster. "She fainted."

Dumbledore shook his head. "A better reaction than to resolve to drinking oneself into a stupor."

"I'm conscious and she's not. I'll disagree with you," Snape retorted, drinking right from the bottle of Ogden's.

Dumbledore only looked at him with a grim expression and started to leave. "I shall send our Order member first then. He is also a Slytherin and will spy for us. He is intelligent and hates me and my house, just as much as you do. I trust that he is a good man. If he gets over his suicidal tendencies." He stopped in the doorway and turned to look at the Potions Master. "He has quite a bit in common with you."

Snape only snorted and took another swig of Ogden's.

Dumbledore looked at him with soft eyes. "Once upon a time, I thought that he would remain dark forever. But even he changed." He paused until Snape looked at him curiously. "Things change, Severus. People change."

"Not this much."

Dumbledore shook his head to show that he disagreed and left.

xXx

Hermione was staring at her curtains when Dumbledore appeared. "Are you alright?" he asked. The witch sat up before flinching and clutched her head. Dumbledore rushed to her side and gently prodded her back so that she leant against the headboard. "I suppose that answers that."

Hermione looked at him, letting her hand fall to the sheets. "Charlotte," she said, her voice quiet with awe. "Jason."

"I know," Dumbledore said. "It must have been a shock."

Hermione shook her head, her mouth falling open a bit. "Do you think?" She looked beseechingly at him. "I can't deal with this myself. Please, _please_, let me tell someone."

"I suppose you can't tell me?" Dumbledore smiled. "I'm hurt."

Hermione smiled weakly at him. "You would never understand. Don't make me accuse you of understanding exactly what an eighteen year old girl is feeling."

Dumbledore nodded, smiling. "That won't do my manliness any good."

"Or what's left of it," Hermione thought to herself. She gave the headmaster another weak smile.

"Poor, dear girl. You can't talk to Minerva McGonagall." Dumbledore muttered.

"She would never understand," Hermione agreed.

"Remus?" Dumbledore asked. "You're close with him, are you not?" he added as Hermione suddenly looked at him, aghast.

"No!" She shook her head. "Absolutely, not! Remus would kill him!"

Dumbledore shrugged and nodded. "I suppose so." He frowned. "You want to speak with Harry and Ronald?"

"Oh, sweet Lord, _no_!" Hermione gave Dumbledore a pointed look when he raised his eyebrows at her response. "I might be able to get Remus to at least _pretend_ to think about it before doing anything to the professor!"

Dumbledore smiled a bit. "It's touching how Severus' welfare is important to you."

Hermione's eyes widened and she hastily shook her head. "For Charlotte and Jason."

Dumbledore laughed. "Ms. Weasley and Ms. Lovegood then?"

Hermione slumped back against her pillow. "Please," she said, softly.

xXx

Severus Snape barely glanced at the man who stepped through the fireplace before waving him over to the nearby armchair. "Sit down and start drinking something," he muttered.

The man inclined his head toward the Potions Master in greeting. "Severus Snape," he said, curtly and turned to the cabinet.

Snape looked the man over then – pale skin, gaunt cheeks, short, dark hair and obsidian eyes. He turned back to his bottle of whisky and suddenly thought the dark gold of his drink was the shade of Hermione eyes… _Would that wench not even let him get drunk in peace?_ He scowled. "Women."

"Pardon?"

Snape looked up at his drinking mate and saw that the younger man was watching him curiously. "Women." He suddenly thought of Dumbledore and Remus, and how they were going to react and use this against him. "Gryffindors," he added.

"Never really liked either," the man said.

Snape's eyes shot up to look at him, his bottle of whiskey stopped an inch near his lips. "A homosexual?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I have a friend named Remus Lupin. He can really use someone to pass the time with."

The man's eyes narrowed and he frowned. "No. Not homosexual. It just seems that there's a war going on and there are other things to think about." He took a gulp of his glass of gin. "I've never met a woman I can stand."

Snape slapped the arm of his chair. "Exactly," he smirked. But then he frowned. "And then you have children." He took another drink. "Who in their right minds wants children? The Ancients had to make sex so fucking _fun_ to trick us into having the little buggers."

"Albus told me about your dilemma," the man smirked. "He didn't tell me much; just that you had two children here from the future and the thought of their mother makes you uncomfortable." He paused. "I couldn't raise a child."

Snape shook his head. "Me, neither." Another drink. "I'd hate them. I couldn't raise them because I just couldn't bring myself to _care_." The other man didn't reply and Snape turned to look at him. "Your name."

The man looked up at him and gave him a wry smile. "Why the sudden interest?"

Snape eyed him. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Twenty-two," Snape repeated, deadpan. "I thought you looked too young to be so cynical, but I suppose I was that age when Albus trapped me here."

The man laughed, wryly and finished off his glass before reaching for the bottle of gin that he'd placed on the table. "I feel like I'm well into my eighties."

Snape watched him carefully. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "Why are you so depressed about having a young wife?"

Snape almost rolled his eyes. "You would not understand my situation unless you were living it." He paused. "Your name?"

The man turned and looked at him evenly. "Tom Maverick Elder."

For a long second, Snape just stared at him. And stared. And stared. Finally, his drunk mind realized why the name sounded familiar, put two and two together and he spoke. "Tom Maverick Elder." His tone grew somber and serious. "Do you have any negative traits about your person that may be genetic?"

Elder shrugged, cocking an eyebrow up. "Perhaps."

"Perhaps?" Snape frowned.

"I _am_ as much a classic Slytherin, Death Eater and spy as you are," Elder stated, wryly. "Can that be considered genetic?"

"Keep your son the hell away from my daughter."

xXx

"Say something. Please say something." Hermione closed her eyes and leaned back into her bed, waiting for her friends to react. They were in the Head Girl's room now, Hermione lying on the bed, her headache having come back as she told the story to her two best girlfriends who were sitting on either side of her.

"Er…" Luna murmured. "I thought there was something familiar about Charlotte…"

"Quiet, Luna," Ginny snapped in a whisper.

Hermione opened her eyes and looked at the redhead, who was looking at her with an unreadable expression. "Gin?"

"What is the _matter_ with you?" Ginny hissed. "_Snape_?!" Before Hermione could respond, she held a hand up. "And don't give me that spy shit!" She jumped up from the mattress and started pacing near the bed. "_How_? Charlotte? Is his daughter?" Her voice was strangely quiet despite how angry she was, possibly because of the shock.

"Is my daughter, as well," Hermione cut in from the bed, her eyebrows furrowed. She felt Luna's hand over hers and glanced at the blonde with a grateful expression before grasping it and turning back to the redhead. "I've a son, too."

Ginny stared at her with stoically. "You _must_ be joking."

Luna squeezed Hermione's hand. "Have I ever told you how beautiful Charlotte is?" she asked, smiling softly.

Hermione mirrored her expression. "She is. Jason is, too."

Luna broke out into wide smile. "Is he?"

"Oh, sweet Circe," Ginny suddenly moaned. To the looks her friends gave her, she shook her head. "I'm sure your children will be lovely, Hermione." Her face twisted a bit at this point. "But… _Snape_?!"

"How many times are you going to ask me that?" Hermione asked, her own voice rising a bit.

"What could you have been thinking?!" Ginny demanded, her voice past its whisper. "Are you some kind of masochist or something?!"

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Perhaps I am. Who knows?!" she snapped.

"Ginny, please," Luna said. "I believe they'll make a fine couple."

"Oh, Luna," Ginny said, her voice dropping to a deceptively calm tone. "You, my dear naïve rabbit, believe a lot of things."

"Ginny, what is the matter?!" Hermione snapped. "Can't you just stop and be a friend?"

"I am being a friend – I expected better from you. I mean, _Snape_. He's…" Her voice trailed off as she struggled to find the words.

"He's _what_?" Hermione snapped. "What are you yelling about?"

Ginny threw up a hand in exasperation. "Older than you. Slytherin," she listed.

Hermione scowled. "That's it?" she repeated. "That's what you're yelling at me about?"

"Reason enough," Ginny scowled.

Hermione looked at her, evenly, scowling dangerously. "I didn't yell this much when I found out about Riddle. Older Slytherin as well, wasn't he?!"

"Hermione!" Luna gasped, her eyes widening.

"Yes, he was." Ginny's calm voice and even stare were far from the fiery outburst Hermione had expected and braced herself against. "And if you haven't learned from my example, you're as _stupid_ as Snape makes you out to be," she stated, coolly. She started to leave and was halfway across the room when she was stopped.

"For Pete's sake, get over it," Hermione said, her voice even.

Ginny whipped around to face her, eyes flashing.

"_Get_ over it," Hermione repeated. "Get over _him_. Get the over the _whole damn thing_. I can't worry about house rivalries and age differences – my children are existing out of their time and their father… Gods, their father. Where do I _start_?!"

Ginny smirked a bit. "Yes, Hermione, where to start indeed?"

"Gin," Hermione said, quietly. "I can make a list of everything that's wrong with him, but I honestly believe he won't hurt me. Can't you give him a chance?"

Ginny looked away for a second and Luna raised her eyebrows at the redhead. "Ginny. Your friend needs you."

Ginny finally sighed a bit. "I don't like this." She frowned and looked like she was about to choke. "But I like Charlotte. I'll give this a chance for her," she grumbled, walking back to the bed, her back stiff. She sat at the foot of the bed and stared at the carpet.

"Thank you," Hermione said. Ginny nodded by way of saying 'you're welcome.' A moment passed and Luna nudged the brunette before she sighed a little and looked apologetically at the redhead. "I'm sorry I brought up Riddle."

"That's fine," Ginny muttered. She inhaled deeply and lay back against the bed so that her head was near Hermione's stomach. She smiled, wryly then. "At least he looked good," she murmured. "When I found out he was Voldemort, I went _crazy_ – I mean, I think I even scared _him_ a little." She turned to look questioningly at Hermione. "What is it about Snape that keeps you so calm?" Luna gave Hermione a similar look.

Hermione shrugged and thought for a second, and frowned in contemplation when she could find no answer. "I don't know," she honestly replied. For a second, she didn't elaborate, but then her jaw dropped open and her face twisted in horror. "Oh, holy textbooks, Snape! _Snape_!" she shrieked. She scrambled out of bed, wild-eyed and pale, and paced the same path Ginny had done a few minutes ago. "_Severus Sodding Snape_!" She stopped and looked at her friends, who were staring at her curiously. "Girls, I… I… _Ahh_!" she shrieked, her hands flying to her mouth.

Ginny smirked a little. "You know, when you say 'Severus Sodding Snape' like that, his name can sound like a really bad swear."

Luna snapped out of her shock to swat Ginny before turning back to Hermione. "I suppose the magnitude of the situation has just settled on you. Sometimes, the shock just makes you overlook things." Hermione looked at her, bug-eyed. Luna turned to Ginny. "Right, Ginny?"

Ginny inclined her head in a nod. "Shock'll do that. I did worse, Hermione. When I solved Tom's anagram, he asked me what I thought, and told I him that the phrase 'Oh, my Lord' comes to mind."

Luna gave her friend a look.

Hermione gasped and stumbled back a few steps before her legs seemed to give away and she crumbled weakly to the floor. "Oh, Gods… Oh, Gods," she murmured as Ginny and Luna rushed to her side. She shoved them away when they tried to pull her up and looked at them, her amber eyes wide. "I'm going to have sex with Snape!"

Ginny and Luna looked at her for a second, before exchanging a short glance and simultaneously looking away.

"Girls!" Hermione shrieked.

Ginny frowned. "To be honest, Hermione, that was actually the first thing I thought of when you told me what happened."

"Me, too." Luna then frowned. "I'm rather disappointed in myself – I would have expected myself to have a better reaction to your situation."

Hermione's face, which had been pale before, was now a pretty shade of pink. "Oh, Gods…" she murmured, weakly.

Ginny kept her face straight as she tugged Hermione up, helped along by Luna. "Come, honey, let's put you to bed. Your situation is definitely far worse than mine had ever been," she smirked.

xXx

"Do you expect your son to smoke?"

Elder frowned. "No?" he guessed. His frowned deepened when Snape only stared harder at him, narrowing his eyes. "No," he repeated, with more conviction.

"Do you expect your son to drink?"

Elder scowled. "I'm going to say yes, because all young wizards drink." His scowl faltered under the menacing look he received from the Potions Master then. "What?" he asked.

"He will not drink because _you_, Tom Maverick Elder, are not going to allow him to," Snape snarled.

Elder blinked once before straightening and regaining his composure. "I was under the impression that you wouldn't care about your children?"

Snape didn't answer his question. "Do you expect the little bastard to go to jail?"

"No, we're going to argue self-defense when he kills you," Elder said, matter-of-factly. He quickly leant to the side to dodge the Ogden's bottle Snape threw at him. It bounced off the back of his armchair and hit the floor, smashing to bits. Elder looked incredulously at Snape, who met his eyes evenly.

"Do you expect your son to have commitment issues?"

xXx

"You are such a Mama's boy," Charlotte muttered as she and her brother walked down the hall.

Jason only scowled. "Don't hate me because you were unwanted," he muttered.

Maybe it was because she knew him so well, but Charlotte suddenly thought that Jason still looked like their father when he scowled grumpily like that, even though a glamour charm made him look more like their mother's grandfather. She was about to reach over and shove him, but the Head Girl's room just as the door swung open. Luna was the first to walk out, the same dreamy look that she always had brightened and she smiled when she saw them and didn't hint to Charlotte or Jason that their godmother knew anything. Ginny, however, froze after shutting Hermione's door and stared calculatingly at Charlotte.

"Charlotte," Luna said. She turned to look at Jason and her lips quirked a bit more. "And this must be your brother."

Charlotte nodded, watching the older girls carefully. "This is Jason," she said, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable under Ginny's scrutiny. A thought hit her. "Jason… Looks nothing like me right now. How would you know that he's my brother?" she mused. And then frowned. "You know!" she deduced, her eyes widening.

"Hello, Jason," Luna said, as pleasant as always, her silver eyes sparkling.

Jason braced himself against another hug, and nodded stiffly at the pretty Ravenclaw. "Godmother," he muttered in greeting, flushing a bit and looking away. Luna must have noticed his discomfort, because she only smiled wider, but did nothing else. He gave her a second's appreciative half smile at that before looking away again, which she responded to by grinning wider.

"Jason," Ginny stated, turning from Charlotte to her brother. The redhead frowned. "You look nothing like Snape."

"I'm wearing a glamour," Jason explained, looking up again to meet her eyes. He frowned. "What should I call you?"

Ginny started a bit, her eyebrows rising as she looked at him. "What do you call me at home?" she asked, curiously.

"Aunt Ginny - " Jason didn't get further before Ginny broke out into a wide smile, scaring the Slytherin a little. "What is it?"

"That is so sweet!" Ginny exclaimed, all traces of her previous stoniness gone. "Call me that."

"People will find it suspicious," Luna pointed out. "Why don't you just call us by our given names in public and whatever you want in private?"

Nods went around the group. Charlotte looked to Hermione's room door. "Can we see her?" She nodded at Jason. "My baby brother here wants his mummy."

Jason scowled fiercely at her. "I heard she fainted. I just wanted to see if she's alright."

"She's fine," Luna said. "She's asleep now. She's just shocked and confused. We'll let her sleep it off and you can speak to her in the morning, alright?"

Jason nodded once again, not meeting her eyes.

"Well, it's almost curfew…" Ginny said, looking around the hallway as the torches began to dim a little. "Bedtime."

xXxXx

It was a few minutes after midnight when Kingsley Shacklebolt appeared in Snape's rooms to collect Tom Elder. He expected the two Slytherins to be drunk in his friend's parlour, but when he got there, he found Elder alone. "Where is Severus?" Shacklebolt asked, looking around the room.

Elder smirked tiredly. "We had an impossible, but interesting discussion… And now he's gone," he said, getting up.

"Gone?" Shacklebolt echoed, puzzled.

Elder shrugged. "Something about being able to get drunk in peace…"

xXxXxXx

After her friends had forced her to change into a nightgown and get into bed, Hermione had drifted to sleep and was slumbering peacefully when something woke her. She groggily opened her eyes and, at first, could make out nothing in her dark room. But then, a movement to her right pulled her from sleep even more and she stiffened with alarm when she made out a figure next to her bed.

Her eyes widened she let out a bit of a shriek as she scrambled to sit up before being pushed back to the mattress and held down by her wrists.

"Don't bother," a low, male voice said, his voice warm against her cheek. "I've warded the door and placed silencing charms on the room."

Despite the fact that his voice was slurred and he was pinning her down to a bed in a locked room, Hermione felt herself calm down when she realized who it was. "Professor?" she asked, quietly.

He let out a short, sarcastic laugh that hit the side of her face and blew a few curls against her cheek. "We've two children. You should call me by my given name, shouldn't you?" His words were strangely genuine, yet sarcastic at the same time. He paused and leaned in closer so that his lips were centimeters away from her ear. "_Wife_?" he added in a low, menacing hiss against her soft neck. He was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath followed by slight shivering from her. "Say it."

Hermione's heart leapt into her throat. "Say – Say what?" she whispered, quietly, dumbly.

His grip tightened around her wrists. "Say. My. Name!" His quiet, calm tone was more menacing than any of his yelling had ever been.

Hermione opened her mouth to do as he said, but suddenly seemed to have lost her voice. She couldn't… She suddenly thought that this was ridiculous – it was just a name. She could easily say a name. She'd said it when she said Jason's full name a number of times. Why had she lost control of her mouth now?

"_Now_!" the Potions Master ordered from somewhere above her.

Her breath hitched, but she managed a quiet, whispered, "Se – Severus." And her heart seemed to explode inside of her. She felt her blood rush as hurriedly through her as she became impossibly hot, even as cold, delicious electricity flowed through her. The feeling was so strange, so intense that she almost said it again…

"Good girl," Snape – no, _Severus_ breathed against her cheek.

Her brow furrowed and she tried to push him away, but he was still holding her down so it had no effect. "Have you been _drinking_?" she gasped, incredulously as she got a whiff of the scent on his breath.

"Yes," he hissed, pressing her wrists into the mattress, invoking a small whimper from her. "I always thought that whiskey had a beautiful colour to it," he muttered, changing his position on the bed.

Hermione felt the mattress dip a bit just seconds before she felt the material of his robes against her ankle. Her heart started fluttering wildly in her chest and she tried to breathe, trying to calm down – this was Professor Snape. He would never do anything to her… At least not now. They would have to do something in the future, of course, for the sake of their children, but he wouldn't do anything to her now…

"But tonight, do you know what I realized?" His breath was now against her neck. He had changed his grip on her right hand so that he was now massaging the soft palm of her hand with his callused thumb while he held her down.

Hermione tried to ignore the feeling of his thumb drawing lines in her palm… Her whole arm was tingling and making her already fluttering heart beat faster. Was that the same thumb that had rested against her lip earlier that day? "What did you realize?" she whispered, her voice foreign to her own ears.

"Your eyes are the same colour," the man above her said. Hermione gasped, her eyes fluttering shut, heart hammering when she felt him shift again to drop a caressing butterfly kiss at the corner of her eye before continuing, his lips now brushing against her temple. The places his lips touched burned like an icy fire that numbed her mind. "This shiny, light, almost golden, brown." His lips passed over her eyebrow.

"You… You're drunk," Hermione whispered, her voice trembling.

"I can't even get drunk without thinking of you." He suddenly sounded frustrated as he leant up.

Hermione felt him move away from her and suddenly had the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him back against her… But, of course, she did no such thing. "Prof…" She started, before remembering what he said earlier. She took a silent, deep breath again. "Severus… Why are you here?" she finally asked.

"I hate you." He felt the woman beneath him stiffen. "I hate our spawn as well. You, I hate even more, though."

Hermione was suddenly hurt that he'd say such a thing. He was drunk, she tried telling herself. He wasn't thinking straight. If he was thinking straight, he wouldn't even be in her room, telling her all of this. But it still hurt. Especially the tone he used. It wasn't spiteful or malicious – it sounded like it was just a simple statement of the facts. Like it wasn't based on a drunken emotion that he could sleep off, but a fact that won't change. She blinked a few times against a sudden burning at the back of her eyes before shutting her eyes altogether. "Why?" she questioned.

"Why," he stated. "I don't need a reason to hate you," he snarled.

Hermione gulped. "You came here to tell me that?" she whispered.

"No." He felt her eyelashes against his cheek as her eyes fluttered open when he dropped another kiss on her temple. He paused a second, retightening his hold on her wrists. "I came here to fuck you."

Hermione's eyes widened. "No - "

"Yes." The word was a statement, not an argument, but a statement. A fact that wasn't going to change.

"No," she gasped, trying to twist out of his grasp. His lips were against her throat and the feeling cut off her words and movements as more of that fire coursed through her. She whimpered, quietly when she felt his lips roam down her throat to the base of her neck. "We can't do this tonight," she gasped. "I'm not ready…"

"I don't give a damn," Severus growled before lightly nipping at the tender skin of her throat, drawing another gasp from her. "You are or will be my wife, so you are going to lay here and perform your wifely duties. Is that understood?"

"You can't do this…"

"Watch me."

"You won't - " Her voice broke and a sob escaped her. "You won't do this to me."

"You think crying will make me change my mind?" Severus hissed, his breath hitting the top of her chest.

Hermione was trembling beneath him. "Severus, please…"

"Are you scared?" the Potions Master asked, feeling her skin tremble beneath his lips. He sounded almost amused.

Hermione didn't answer for a second and the only sound in the room was her quiet, unsteady breathing growing stronger and more rhythmic. Her answer surprised both of them. "No."

"No?" Severus almost laughed out loud. "My brave little Gryffindor. It doesn't make a difference."

"It doesn't," she echoed. Her voice was steadier now, with more conviction. "Because you won't do anything to me. You won't hurt me. I'm not scared because I trust you."

For a second, Severus didn't reply. In the darkness, Hermione could make out his form stiffen and she could picture his coal black eyes narrowing as he studied her… Could he see her? She had an urge to ask him. There. The answer to that question was more important than his intentions toward her tonight. She really did trust him.

"Damned wench," he finally growled. He let go of her wrists and moved off of her to flop down on the bed beside him. She was right. Right to trust him. He could never hurt her this way. "I hate you."

Hermione glanced over at his profile and had to smile. "I don't hate you."

"Your children have ruined my life," he continued, monotonously, staring at the canopy of her bed. Even in the darkness, he could see that it was a dark red.

"They must get that from you." Hermione gathered up every ounce of courage she had in her body for her next move. Severus almost started outwardly when the woman beside him curled up against his side, laying one hand gently on his shoulder. She reached up brushed her lips across his cheek. "Thank you."

"For leaving you be tonight?" the Potions Master scowled. He started to get up, but she caught the bit of the robe that had been under her fingers.

"Please stay."

"Why?" Severus asked, frowning.

"Please?" Hermione asked. She faltered. "I want to know to what it'll feel like," she murmured, a flush creeping to her cheeks again.

"You want to what will feel like to do _what_?" the Potions Master scowled, starting to grow tired himself. He shouldn't have drunk so much…

Hermione wondered how to answer his question, and decided that the best method was the direct route. "To sleep beside you. What that would feel like later."

Severus didn't answer. He wanted to tell her how absurd that was, and how much trouble they would both get into if one of his colleagues found out. He wanted to tell her to… To… "Fine."

Hermione broke out into a wide smile, even as she flushed deeper. However, her smile ebbed into a frown when he got up. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he responded.

"Taking my robes off." She could hear the scowl in his voice and had to smile softly again.

"What do you usually wear to bed?" she suddenly heard herself ask curiously. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she flushed deeply and shrank back onto the bed, screwing her eyes shut. Where was the blanket…? The option of covering herself or strangling herself with the blanket was out of the question, because she couldn't find it, so she opted to bury her face into the pillow and hope that she would suffocate. Severus had stopped moving and was staring at her. Even in the darkness, with her eyes closed, she could feel him raise an eyebrow and smirk at her behaviour.

He turned around without replying, and continued to undress, the amused smirk still on his lips. He slid his robes off and threw them onto the foot of the bed. He then took his boots and socks off. It was when he was undoing the buttons on his cuffs that he finally turned back to her. Before answering her question, he looked her over. The ankle-length, pale pink – he wouldn't have taken her to wear pink, but it actually suited her – nightgown she was wearing didn't cover her completely. It didn't plunge low enough to give him a view of her cleavage, but the loose fabric didn't conceal the swell of her breasts. It was spaghetti-strapped, so her arms and neck were left bare. "Pajama bottoms," he answered, lazily, starting to undo the buttons on his shirt.

Hermione tentatively looked up from her pillow and turned back onto her side, facing him, even though he knew she couldn't see him as well as he could see her. "What?" she whispered.

Severus started taking his shirt off. "I'll have to make do with slacks tonight, but, yes, pajama bottoms and wife beaters." With his wandless magic, he levitated the blanket up from the floor where he'd thrown it earlier when he came in and lay down beside her, letting the sheet fall over them. Once again, she curled up against his chest no sense of shyness in her actions, as if it came naturally to her. Having never spent a night sleeping with a woman in this sense, Severus did not know what to do. He finally decided to make himself comfortable, and that included just snaking his arm around her waist and letting his chin rest against her soft hair. This felt good. He wouldn't admit it to the woman beside him, but this felt good. There wasn't a need to toss or turn like he usually did… It was comfortable, and just… Good. His eyelids were just starting to droop when she spoke.

"Aren't wife beaters _white_?"

Severus scowled when he heard the teasing note in her voice. "There are black wife beaters."

"Ah," she breathed, sleepily, against his chest. She ran a finger over the fabric of the one he was wearing delicately. "I suppose if it were white, I could see it better."

Severus scowled again, placing his thumb under chin and tilting her head up, even though she couldn't see him. "Do you know why they're named what they are?" he asked, scathingly.

Hermione yelped, turning her head out of his grasp. "That's cruel."

Severus ignored her. "I'll show you if you don't shut up and go to sleep."

Hermione couldn't keep but smiling. She never thought it before, but his bark was worse than his bite. "Severus?" she whispered.

"What?" he demanded, thoroughly annoyed now.

A soft, gentle kiss upon his cheek. "Good night."

xXxXxXxXx

A/N

And there is Chapter 12, kiddies…

- The talk between Snape and Snapelets got moved from this chapter to the next… It had to if you wanted that SSHG scene.

- Mione and Jason have a talk… Not quite what you would expect.

- Remus finds out. Harry finds out, too. (Uh oh…)

- More SSHG scenes that will, at the very least, make you blush and giggle. XD

Ah, we're close to the end. Not quite there, but close.

Please review!

luv

Creatress


	13. The Morning After

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Better late than never, right? sheepish

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 13 – The Morning After

After Hermione had told him to have a good night, Severus took her advice and did so. But something always follows the Good Night, which is the Morning After. The Morning After, in which things that were clouded in darkness and a haze of drunkenness in the night become blindingly clear, is never pretty.

When Severus woke up – or, was woken up – the first thing he noticed was the loud banging. It stopped suddenly, and the second thing he noticed was the severe ache in his head. Because of his cognitive abilities and high level of knowledge pertaining to cause-effect relationships, he quickly figured out that he now had a hangover because he'd been drinking the night before. He would have wondered why… If the hangover had let him, but alas, hangovers are evil, vile matters and don't do such things.

But Severus was also able to remember his penchant for planning ahead – after all, the Slytherin thing to do would be to have a safety net placed in case one found himself in an undesirable situation – so, there _should_ be a vial of hangover potion (how original a name) on his nightstand where he hand was patting around. But, there wasn't – his hand only met soft, cotton sheets and then something even softer and gauzy. Still no hangover potion… Why?

Severus tried to open his eyes, but the ungodly amount of light that blinded him forced them back shut. Then that irritating noise started again. To a regular, non-hung over person, it was just a gentle rapping, but to Severus it was an earth-shattering BANG BANG BANG BANG… And all of a sudden, a new noise joined the ruckus.

A soft, feminine groan.

His hangover vanished and he suddenly remembered the previous night.

If Severus had been the kind of man to note such things, he would have noticed how his future wife's voice had quickly chased away something as unpleasant as a hangover. But, he was no Remus Lupin to notice something so sickeningly sweet, so he did not. That was probably just as well, because the memory of what had happened last night left him with a monstrous stomach ache and a panic that wreaked havoc in his mind worse than any hang over could hope to do. He forced his eyes open, and his ill feeling just intensified when he saw her. Her soft skin, chestnut curls and long eyelashes suddenly looked demonic to him and he scrambled out of bed.

He quickly dressed himself – by hand; where the hell was his wand?! – and just about ran to the door. His hand was on the handle when that banging started again. Hermione Granger turned and mumbled something about 'up' in her sleep. Someone was on the other side of the door.

Severus stepped back, almost feeling lucky that her visitor had started knocking before he'd opened the door. It didn't matter who might be on the other side – there was no one in the castle who would react well to finding him in the head girl's room. He glanced back at Hermione – there was no way in hell he was facing her either. Crazy chit – who the hell would invite a drunken man to spend the night?! This was all her fault!

Severus scowled, ready to begin a full-fledged rant at the world when he suddenly noticed where all the light was coming from. There was a window. Delight erupting in him, Severus ran to it, as quickly and quietly as possible. His glee was short-lived however, when he found that the window was locked. Wandless, he tried to open it and found it shut. What in the name of Merlin - ?!

"I'm up! One second!"

Severus whipped around to see Hermione clumsily get out of bed. She was facing away from him, so she hadn't seen him yet. … At least, _something_ was going well.

Severus slowly backed away from the window, his eyes fixed firmly on the girl who was walking to her door. She picked up a pink bathrobe and wrapped it around her as she walked. She stopped before opening the door. "Who is it?" she asked, her voice still tired.

Her visitor didn't answer for a second. And then, a quiet, male voice answered – "It's me." A pause. "Jason."

Severus saw her stiffen, and knew what she was about to do before she did it. A split second before she whipped around to look at the bed, obviously just remembering their conversation last night, Severus, who really had no choice, ducked into her closet. He left the door open just a crack because – well, this should, no doubt, be interesting.

Hermione looked puzzled for a second, and then, rationalized that Severus must have left before she'd woken. She felt a little ill at ease that he would leave without saying anything or leaving a note, but then she rationalized further and thought that this was Severus Sodding Snape that she was thinking about. Instead of annoying her, the thought brought a small smile to her face and she turned back to her door. Jason.

Hermione opened it and suddenly felt self-conscious of her appearance when she saw Jason, who was neatly dressed in jeans and a navy blue sweater. "Hi," she said, smiling a little nervously. She stepped aside to let him in. "I wasn't expecting you."

Jason walked in, looking uncomfortable. "Did I wake you?" he asked, frowning and looking around.

"No," Hermione replied, instantly. Jason gave her a quick once-over before raising an eyebrow at her attire, and she laughed nervously – mostly because of the feeling that shot through her when he'd raised his eyebrow. "Well, yes, I did wake up just now. But I'm glad you came and got me up."

Jason shrugged. "You usually don't sleep so late. I guess that started happening when you got older?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "No. I…" Her voice trailed off. "I had a late night."

In the closet, Severus inwardly shuddered. She was an early-riser.

Jason nodded, thoughtfully. A moment passed in awkward silence. "I heard you fainted," he said. "That's why I'm here."

Hermione's mouth opened and her hands flew to her mouth for half a second. "That is so sweet!"

Jason frowned. "I'm sorry?"

"You came to check up on me," Hermione restated.

Jason shrugged again and stared at the floor, unable to meet her gaze. "I was… Curious."

Hermione was unable to keep the grin off her face. He was too much of a teenaged boy to say that he'd been 'worried.'

Jason still hadn't looked up at her. "And I suppose it's partly my fault. The whole, popping into the past and taking down the very _intricately_ woven web you all have here."

"Web?" Hermione asked, frowning a bit.

"Well, I was informed by my sister last night that my name is Jason Tisamenus Spena who transferred here from the Maplewood Academy in Canada, after developing an allergy to syrup and beer," he said, rather bluntly.

Hermione's lips quirked at Charlotte's alias for him. "That's not _too_ intricate?" she asked, her eyebrows rising.

Jason quirked a shoulder and met her eyes. "It's not too intricate _now_ because I tore down half the spider silk last night."

Hermione had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from giggling girlishly at this unbelievable situation. Her son was perfect – he was so _witty_. "Exactly what part of our web did you tear down, Jason?"

"He knew he was the father, but didn't know you were the mother. You were in the same situation, with roles reversed. The headmaster, of course, always knows all. My sister, unsurprisingly, was absolutely clueless…" Jason paused. "What were the whole lot of you doing down there last night?"

Hermione thought for a second. "It's a long story," she answered, honestly. She looked at him rather soberly then. "Let's talk about why _you_ were there." She gestured at him to sit down in a comfortable chair by her desk before she sat at the edge of her bed.

Jason sat down, a little nervously. "What is it?" he asked.

Hermione stared at him for a second, not quite knowing how to approach the topic at hand. "I know that you're Slytherin and all, but honestly… Putting your sister, and then yourself, into all that danger for a bit of Evanesce?"

Inside the closet, Snape smirked a little. His son lies, cheats and steals. Model Slytherin.

Jason visibly deflated. He hadn't wanted to talk about their escapade. "Hadn't you ever felt like you would do anything for a perfect grade?" he asked, his eye brow furrowing.

Hermione shook her head, incredulously. "I wouldn't cheat."

Jason frowned. "It was for the OWLs. There was so much at stake."

"Jason…" She couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. But before she could start nagging at him, he spoke.

Jason got up and started pacing a little. "I don't understand what had happened. When I had it the night before, it was _perfect_. The thickness was right, the colour, everything… I thought Charlotte needn't have come to check on it, but when I went back in the morning, something was wrong." He raised his eyes to the ceiling and stared at the concrete. "I don't know what happened. I panicked."

Snape had the sudden urge to perform legilimency on the child, but couldn't because he didn't have a good view of his eyes. He was a little discomforted by how easily he was able to talk to his mother… But another thought stopped him. Hearing Hermione's next words only confirmed this second line of thought.

Hermione observed him and felt her heart warm and melt. "Oh," she said, softly. He'd been scared. It was an important project, and something had gone wrong. He had the same fear of failure that she did, so he had panicked and done something stupid. She got up from the bed and, quite hesitantly, placed a hand on his arm. "I… I suppose I understand."

Severus almost laughed out loud. Jason was a true Slytherin who could easily talk his way out of any situation… He must have known of his mother's fear of failure, and appealing to that was an added brilliance.

"But no more time traveling and car rides, alright?" Hermione continued.

Jason gave her a wry smile. "You have my word."

Hermione gave him a soft smile and, almost shyly, reached up and gave him a hug. Jason stiffened a bit, but didn't start squirming away like he usually did. In the closet, Severus tried to choke himself to death.

"Where is your sister now?" Hermione suddenly asked, curiously.

xXx

"Have I discovered snorkacks?"

"I don't know."

"Grindylews?"

"I don't know."

"Gendrils?"

"Oh!" Charlotte's face brightened and she sat up.

"Yes, yes?" Luna asked, getting excited.

Charlotte flopped back down onto her bed with a tired frown. "I have _no_ idea."

Luna gave her a displeased look. "What if you were meant to come back here and tell me what I did to find them so that I can go out and find them?" She prodded Charlotte's arm with a finger.

Charlotte stared at her for a second before slowly smiling. "By that reasoning, I should have been able to tell my parents about each other with no backlash." Luna only shrugged and poked her again. "Are you going to hold me hostage here all day?"

"Answer my questions and I'll let you go free," Luna said, matter-of-factly. She sat down on her own bed and fixed her gaze on Charlotte. "I have all day."

Charlotte looked at her, eyes widening in shock. "You _are_ holding me hostage!"

"Charlotte, just tell me what I want to know and everything will be fine," Luna said, calmly.

"This makes you the world's very first evil godmother."

xXx

Murphy's Law states that if anything can go wrong with a plan, it _will_ go wrong. Also, it will go wrong at the worst possible moment, in the worst possible way.

Severus was thinking about this in the closet. He had nowhere he needed to be at the moment, and the only person who would walk into the closet was Hermione Granger, but he could just run past her and escape before she could react. Ergo, the worst thing that could happen to his plan of hiding in the closet until the coast was clear (Dear Merlin, it sounded so cowardly when said like that) was if he ran out of air. This would not happen because the door was open a crack. The only real danger was to his sanity, which would suffer massive damage if he had to stand there for another minute and listen to Hermione's detailed version of Charlotte's visit so far, but if need be, he could shove his fingers into his ears and mentally list his favourite poisons. So there was nothing that could go wrong… Right?

And then, his arm started to burn.

He needed to get to his wardrobe, as soon as possible. Running out would not be a good idea – he knew this for a fact. Hermione knew that there was a war going on and that he would be called away to meetings with genocidal maniacs. Jason, however, would not. What if the boy stopped him and started asking questions? For reasons he decided that he would not _bother_ thinking about, Severus did not want to explain to his son where he was going.

The warmth that came as the first signal was slowly started to grow into a painful fire as he kept the Dark Lord waiting.

Severus decided that he would have to run out and let Hermione handle Jason… She probably would be better at it anyways. He was just about to slam the door open when he suddenly started listening to what Hermione was saying.

" … spiders everywhere. I even lost my wand in the Forbidden Forest," Hermione was saying.

Jason winced a bit. "So you have no wand right now?" he frowned. "That can't be safe."

"It's not," Hermione agreed. "You always keep yours with you, right?"

Jason nodded and slipped his wand out of his sleeve.

Severus could not believe his luck – well, actually, he could. With all the bad luck that he'd been experiencing in the recent past, it was about time he had some good luck. The Potions Master needed no wand for two things – setting something on fire and telekinesis. A slight flick of his wrist was all it took.

Jason's wand flew from his fingers and hurled across the room, right into the waiting hand of the greatest father in the whole, wide Head Girl's room. Jason stiffened, and jumped up from the chair he was sitting in. Hermione gasped and also stood.

Severus didn't give Hermione or Jason a chance to react before he sped by them. "Obliviate!" he barked, pointing the wand at Jason. "Soporiferum!" Jason stiffened under the obliviate, before falling to the floor, dead to the world under the soporiferum. The Potions Master glanced at Hermione before he disappeared out the door, slamming it behind him.

xXx

"I mean, most girls get godmothers who transform vegetables into vehicles," Charlotte continued. Beside her, Ginny smirked.

Luna gave her an exasperated look. "You know that's not true, Charlotte," she said. "Besides, I am horrible with herbology and transfigurations."

The three of them were walking to Hermione's room. Ginny had sent Luna a note, telling her to meet her at once when none of the girls appeared in the Great Hall for breakfast. Luna, who had recognized the strength of Charlotte's will (and the strength of her long-winded speech on how she was the only girl on earth with a villainous godmother), had quickly obeyed.

Severus, luck still shining down on him, had seen them coming and managed to run in the other direction – he didn't want to have to deal with Charlotte, either.

"I'm good in both of those subjects," Ginny put in, her voice painfully flippant. "I could do it for you. But, I'm not your godmother. Too bad for you."

Luna stared at the redhead and Charlotte inched away from her a bit. "How unfortunate for me," the brunette murmured.

"I've been wondering about this all morning," Ginny said, her eyebrows furrowing as she turned to Luna. "Why would she choose _you_ instead of me?"

Charlotte didn't answer. Luna shrugged. "Maybe I'm better with children?" she asked.

"I'm great with children," Ginny retorted.

"I can be great with children, as well," Luna said, thoughtfully.

Ginny gave her a wan smile. "Great with fairy tales, right – I can see how that can appeal to kids."

Charlotte, growing a little nervous, fell back a few steps.

Luna's eyes widened. "You can't handle children. You have all the patience of a bull seeing red." She stopped walking and paused. "Maybe we have children, too, and she picked one of us based on our skills." She turned to Charlotte for support and Ginny looked to her, as well.

Charlotte grimaced. "I don't know about your childrearing skills," she whined.

"So we _have_ kids?" Ginny confirmed.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure this is against time traveling rules."

"Just tell us if they are happy and healthy," Luna prodded.

"And then tell us whose kids and happier and healthier," Ginny added with a challenging look to Luna.

"Fine. Alright, I love them all, but - " Charlotte sighed, starting to grow a little irritated. She turned to Ginny. "Your son – I almost pushed him off a bridge once. The only reason I didn't do it was because I realized that there was water underneath." She then turned to Luna. "The first two of _your_ three kids have gravestones." Luna gasped and Charlotte added, wryly, "They're named after dead people. Enough said." For a long moment, Luna and Ginny just stared at Charlotte. The brunette shrugged. "Maybe my mother flipped a coin?"

Luna nodded and Ginny stammered, "Yes, that must be it."

xXx

Hermione shook Jason by his shoulder, starting to grow a little worried. "Jason, come, wake up," she muttered.

"Door was open!"

Hermione looked up to see Ginny, Luna and Charlotte walk in the door. The three of them stopped in their tracks when they saw the two on the floor.

"What happened?" Charlotte asked, stepping forward.

"Strong sleeping spell, I think," Hermione said, turning back to Jason. "I have no wand, so I can't do anything."

"Who got him, then?" Charlotte asked. She slipped her wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at Jason. "Enervate."

Jason didn't move in the slightest.

"It was a strong spell," Hermione said when her friends looked concerned that he wouldn't wake up.

"Maybe if we all tried together?" Luna suggested. She slipped her wand out, and pointed it at Jason, followed closely by Ginny and Charlotte. "Enervate."

This time, Jason stirred and moved a little, but still did not wake up.

"Who did this?" Charlotte asked, eyeing her brother.

Hermione looked at her for a second. She hadn't spoken to the girl since last night. Everything felt a little awkward now. "I didn't see," she lied, not wanting to tell her that her father was behind it.

Hermione found the whole situation odd – Severus Snape had suddenly stolen Jason's wand before rushing out of her closet? What had he been doing in there in the first place? Had she imagined it? Charlotte glanced at her, looking curious. However, she didn't ask any questions and turned back to Jason. Ginny and Luna, however, gave her questioning looks, but she gave them a pointed look which clearly told them to let it go.

Ginny nodded. "Why would you choose Luna to be godmother instead of me?"

xXxXx

"Where in the seven circles of hell were you?!" Voldemort hissed.

Severus, who had just apparated into the Dark Lord's study, had to stare at him for a second. His snakelike face and lordly presence just weren't intimidating anymore. Compared to what he'd woken up to this morning, Voldemort could be out trying for Miss Wizarding England. "I… I was having troubles with the closet," he muttered, hoping that Voldemort would think he was referring to his wardrobe.

"Your closet?" the Dark Lord asked, frowning. "What was wrong with it?"

"I got stuck inside it, my Lord," Severus answered. "What seems to be the problem?"

Voldemort immediately forgot about Severus' tardiness. "He has one of my horcruxes! Hufflepuff's chalice! He found it, and there's no telling what he will do to it!"

Severus tried not to think about the chalice inside Dumbledore's desk drawer – one would think he'd have a better hiding place. "I am to get it back," he stated, frowning.

"Yes!" the Dark Lord snapped. "I want it back as soon as possible!" He got up from behind his desk and started pacing. "This could ruin me… I'm sending you some help, so that you may be more efficient."

Severus wanted to protest, but no one with half a brain refused anything offered by the Dark Lord. So, he simply nodded. "Who is it, sire?"

Voldemort took his wand out and placed it against his arm. Barely a second later, Peter Pettigrew apparated into the room. Obviously, Severus' streak of good luck was finished. Peter bowed to the Dark Lord and turned to grin at a stoic Severus. "Partner!" he exclaimed. Severus willed himself not to shudder.

"Who knows what vile things he is doing with it, even as we speak…" Voldemort was muttering, despicably. He stopped and fixed his hard eyes on his followers. "You have until tomorrow morning. Get it back," he hissed.

xXx

Severus apparated back to the Hogwarts gates and saw Peter enter the area in his rat form. Scowling, he apparated to his wardrobe and quickly made his way to his office to contact Dumbledore to explain the situation. Pettigrew was once again on school grounds.

"The chalice is not a horcrux anymore – it is a mere cup," Dumbledore muttered. "He didn't think I would just hang onto it?"

Severus pondered on this. There was no way he could have taken the horcrux back while it still had his soul in it – that would be detrimental to the Order. Failing to bring the cup back altogether could be fatal. What would the Dark Lord think of a chalice with no soul?

Dumbledore seemed to have read his mind and winced. "I have to give you something to take back to him," he muttered. "We can't risk your life again."

Severus said nothing. This was shaping out to be one of the worst days in his whole life…

"Give me until tonight to figure something out," Dumbledore said, gently. "Stay calm. Concentrate on your time potion."

Severus nodded before wordlessly leaving to go to the labs.

xXxXx

Jason finally woke up. "What happened?" he murmured, groggily.

"You fell asleep," Hermione said.

Jason looked at her, suspiciously. "I… I just fell asleep?" he asked.

"Yes, you big baby, you just fell asleep," Charlotte muttered.

Jason scowled at her. "Well, she _was_ telling me stories about you."

"Hey," Hermione cut in before Charlotte could retort. "Stop that." She turned to Jason. "Are you feeling okay?" Jason nodded and Hermione helped him up as she rose. "We have about half an hour before classes begin. I'm going to get dressed and go out into the forest to find my wand. Does anyone want to help?"

"I'll come!" Ginny immediately volunteered, throwing a hand up. "I always love helping you."

Hermione blinked at Ginny's enthusiasm and Luna only smiled softly. "Let me get dressed…" She muttered as she started walking toward her bathroom.

After Hermione got dressed, the group headed outside to the Forbidden Forest to look for her wand. Luna's locator charm wasn't working.

"Maybe it's stuck somewhere?" the blonde asked, frowning.

Hermione frowned, as well, walking along the path that she had taken a few nights ago. "With my luck, one of the spiders carried it off."

"Don't they live further into the forest?" Charlotte asked. She paused, a thoughtful look coming across her face. "Most of these spiders are nocturnal, aren't they?"

Hermione whipped around to face her. "No!" she said, firmly. "Nobody's going to go see Aragogg. From what Harry and Ron have told me, they were lucky to escape during our second year."

"There really is a giant spider in the forest?" Charlotte asked, her eyes widening, as she stared into the thickening trees.

"Why would they go to it?" Jason asked, looking in the direction his sister was staring at.

Hermione winced, a little uncomfortably. "Because they're both thick," she muttered.

"Where were _you_ then?" Luna asked, curiously.

"Petrified," Hermione answered, shortly. "But in my defense, I didn't go _looking_ for a giant snake."

Luna stepped ahead of Charlotte. "A giant spider…" she said, softly, a glazed look coming over her face.

Hermione scowled. "Luna, don't even think about it."

Ginny piped up then. "A giant spider. That would make a great pet to introduce to your godchildren, eh, Luna?"

Luna only smiled demurely before her attention shifted. "Did you hear that?" she asked. Something rustled.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

Luna looked around her. "I just heard something…"

Charlotte frowned. "I hear it, too," she said, when the soft rustling reached her ears. She turned to Luna, but froze when she saw something long and furry running across the ground straight toward them. "Rat!" she shrieked, pointing.

Luna whipped around, her mouth dropping open. Surprised, she stumbled back into Jason, who steadied her with one hand while, with his other, grabbed her wand out of her hand before pointing it at the rat. "Wingardium leviosa!"

The large, rather pudgy rat lifted into the air, kicking its paws and writhing to get free. Jason struggled to hold onto it.

"Forca!" Ginny exclaimed, stepping up beside Jason and Luna. Fallen branches and sticks lifted from the ground and transformed into a small cage, made of thin silvery wires appeared around the rat. Pleased, Ginny turned to Charlotte. "See? Transfigurations."

Charlotte was saved from having to answer by Luna who stepped away from Jason. "That was great quick thinking," she complimented him, glancing at the rat. Jason flushed and excused himself, muttering about looking for his mother's wand. Smiling at his behaviour, Luna turned to the rat. She reached out and picked up the cage and stared at it. "It's so big," she observed, wonderingly. The rat growled and made to lunge at her through the bars of the cage and the group jumped back. "And angry." Luna held it away from her. "Shouldn't we free it?" she asked.

"So that it can attack us again?" Charlotte asked, looking suspiciously at the rat.

Ginny frowned and bent over a little so that her face was level with the cage. As she eyed it, the rat stood stock still and stared at her. The redhead suddenly broke out into a smile. "We used to have a rat when I was younger, but it… Well, you know," she said. She quickly glanced at its paws to make sure that no fingers were missing. She laughed. "I used to tease garden snakes with it all the time." The rat lunged at her this time and she scowled. "Let's feed this one to a snake," she muttered, eyeing it with distaste.

Luna smiled a little. "Snakes, Ginny? And you make fun of spiders?"

Hermione, who had gotten irritated because of the rat and the fact that they hadn't found her wand yet, spoke up. "Luna, Ginny, stop that! What is the matter with you two?" She stumbled across a large fallen branch. "We have to get to class. I don't want to hear another word about bloody godmothers."

Jason stiffened. "I have to go get my schedule from Dumbledore - "

"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione corrected.

Jason frowned a little, but inclined his head to show his acquiescence. "Right. I'll see you later, I guess." He nodded at her. He fidgeted for a second under Hermione's gaze. "Mother," he finally said. Hermione grinned and Jason turned away, embarrassed. He nodded to Luna and Ginny as he walked past them. "Godmother, Aunt Ginny."

"Wait! I'll come with you," Charlotte said, quickly, trotting after him. She waved shortly at the three girls before catching up to her brother.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna stared after them for a few seconds and the brunette couldn't keep a smile off her face. Ginny turned and lightly hit her on the arm. "You're beaming!" she exclaimed.

Hermione's smile widened into a grin. "I know."

xXx

"Wasn't that awkward for you at all?" Jason muttered as they entered the castle. It was almost time for classes to start and they were rushing to get to Dumbledore's office.

Charlotte quirked a shoulder. "Depends on who you're talking to, I guess. I can talk to Aunt Luna – she behaves like nothing's changed between this morning and yesterday afternoon. Mother, I haven't spoken to alone. I don't quite look forward to doing _that_ conversation."

"Why?" Jason asked, curiously. "She's nice."

Charlotte didn't answer until he turned to look at her curiously. She looked him in the eye. "Like you said. It's awkward."

Jason looked at her and slowly frowned. "What did you do?"

Charlotte started to protest, but Jason raised an eyebrow and shook his head to show that he wasn't going to believe her. "When did you get so good at reading people?"

"Ever since I figured out the signs that show when you lie. You always make it a point to look people in the eye when you lie, even though it would be completely unnatural to do so," Jason said, matter-of-factly.

Charlotte frowned at him. "Shut up." She glanced at him. "A few days ago, I told her how lenient she was with us."

Jason turned and looked at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"That she's the nice one. How we do things and make sure she doesn't find out about it…" Charlotte continued. Jason opened his mouth to say something, but Charlotte raised a hand to silence him. "Obviously, she doesn't remember. Else, she would have remembered me telling her all of this and would have changed in our time. But she didn't. It must have slipped her mind."

Jason thought about her line of reasoning and accepted it. "Fine, I suppose that makes sense." He looked at her sideways and smirked. "What about Aunt Ginny?"

"I don't fancy being alone with her, either," Charlotte said, frowning.

Jason laughed. "I'm going to tell her."

Charlotte looked at him, flabbergasted. "Tell her what? That I said that?" She gently swatted him. "Don't make this more awkward than it already is."

Jason shook his head. They'd arrived at the Gargoyle. "Do you know his password?" he asked.

Charlotte shrugged and, as logic would make her do, started to list every candy she knew. However, the gargoyle suddenly looked up at them and jumped out of the way. "Do you think he knew that we were coming?" she asked.

"He did tell me to see him this morning," Jason shrugged. He started climbing the staircase, followed closely by his sister. He glanced at her with a small smirk. "I'm not going to tell Aunt Ginny that you don't want to be alone with her." He rushed ahead a bit, putting some distance between himself and his sister. "I'm going to tell her about how she _used_ to be your godmother." Charlotte's eyes widened. "Before she disowned you."

xXxXx

Severus was sitting, waiting impatiently for the flames in the fireplace to flash green and for the headmaster to return. However, what he heard first was a knock on the door. Resisting the urge to snap at whoever it was to go away, he scowled. "Enter!"

The door opened and the latest time traveler from the future of all horrors stumbled in, stopping in his tracks when he saw who was in the room. His sister, who was glowering blackly at her brother, also stopped, her narrowed eyes widening. Fawkes let out a long croon that sounded, to Snape's ears, suspiciously like a laugh and the door to the office slammed shut behind the two teenagers.

Severus stared at the two before scowling. "What are you doing here?!" he snapped. He took a bit of satisfaction in the winces that crossed the two teenagers.

"I… I need my schedule." Jason's voice was rather quiet.

Severus frowned at the boy. "Your schedule." When Jason nodded, Severus turned to Dumbledore's desk and looked over the files and papers and parchments. There was no schedule in sight. Severus told them so. "I don't know where the headmaster has put it. He will be back. Soon, I hope, for his sake," he muttered.

"Oh, well. That's too bad," Charlotte said, grabbing her brother and inching toward the door. She sounded just as nervous as Jason and less sure of herself as well. "We'll just be leaving then." Severus, glad that the two were leaving, watched as the girl turned back to the door and tried to open it. The door didn't budge. Severus frowned, as did Charlotte, before she slipped out her wand and tried the alohomora charm. The door still wouldn't open.

Jason, growing annoyed, tapped his sister on the shoulder. "Get out the way," he hissed, quietly. "Let a man do it."

Charlotte watched with wry amusement as Jason tried to open the door with as much success as she had. "Too bad there aren't any here." She froze when the words were out of her mouth and could literally feel her father's eyes on the back of her head. As Jason turned to look at her with an incredulous expression, she scrambled to make it better. "… Opening the door," Charlotte stammered. "There aren't any who are opening the door."

Severus scowled at her as he walked past them and tried to open the door himself. He'd picked up his wand in his rooms before visiting the Dark Lord and tried the unlocking charm, plus many other spells in his attempts to throw the door open. Right when he was about to resort to setting the wood on fire, Fawkes let out another long croon and Severus realized all at once how futile his efforts were. Dumbledore locked the door. Of course, he did. The old coot must have planned this meeting between him and the devils of the future. His scowl intensified as he glared at the door. He would not be in this mess if he were truly serving Voldemort.

As he played with the notion of truly going back to the Dark Side, he honestly wondered why he fought for Dumbledore. Scowling, Severus turned around and almost walked into Charlotte and Jason. Because of his mental tirade against the Headmaster, he'd forgotten that they were there. Jason gaped at him for a second before remembering himself and turning away. Charlotte, who was also staring at him, blinked a few times before following her brother's gaze. They probably had something to do with it.

Severus suddenly noticed something and frowned. There was a small, dark brown twig hanging tangled amidst Charlotte's tresses. "There's a stick in your hair," he said.

Charlotte turned to him, surprised. "Pardon?"

Severus reached out and plucked the twig out, not bothering to stay anything when Charlotte winced when a strand of her hair got pulled with it. "Why is there a twig in your hair?" he asked, frowning at the offending piece of wood. He whipped it across the room and into the fireplace.

Charlotte shifted, uncomfortably. "We were in the Forbidden Forest," she answered. Severus raised an eyebrow in question, obviously wanting to know why they'd been there. Charlotte faltered, wondering what she should call Hermione. "Umm… The Head Girl lost her wand a few days ago. We were looking for it."

Severus frowned. She _had_ mentioned something about losing her wand… He turned back and walked back to the armchair he'd been sitting in. From there, he looked over Charlotte and Jason. He hadn't seen either of them closely since last night.

Charlotte looked like she always had, but now Severus was able to pick out things that were pointedly Hermione. The colour of her hair, her petite frame, the shape of her mouth… Unable to stare at her any longer, he turned to Jason.

Severus found that Jason was even harder to study. His son was more him. Like he'd mistaken the previous night, Jason looked just like him, though not so slender and with chestnut brown hair that was straight, but the Granger genes prevented it from being lank. At the moment, Jason was staring out the window – and Severus noted this with a frown – just as he himself was wont to do when he was uncomfortable. His brow was furrowed and his lips were pulled back in an impatient, nervously irritated frown.

Severus looked the two over and turned to Jason. "He didn't say anything when he sent you back here?" There was no need to say who 'he' was.

Jason looked up at him and simply stared for a second. "No, sir," he finally answered. "He didn't say anything."

Severus turned away to stare at the fire. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. He broke out into a scowl before turning back to them. He was about to address the girl, but stopped, when, once again, he didn't know what to call her. He finally made a decision. "Miss Snape," he stated. That didn't sound as awkward as he thought it would have sounded. Charlotte looked back up at him. "I hope you realize how idiotic your plan was."

Charlotte turned back to the carpet, her face pale. "I do, sir," she mumbled, quietly.

"The hell you do!" Severus snapped. "Everything is chaotic here, and that isn't even the worst of it! You flew across England in an old, banged up car! Did you stop to think about what you were doing?!" Charlotte cringed. Severus frowned and noted Jason, who was staring sideways at his sister, a look of pity on his face. Severus scowled. "I wouldn't worry, Mr. Snape, you're next," he told him, making Jason startle and turn back to staring out the window. Severus turned back to Charlotte and glared at her. "If you hadn't done something so brainless and irresponsible, I would not have had to send your brother in after you, you would both be in your own time, and I wouldn't be distracted by either one of you!" He stopped his rant and looked her over. She was still staring at the floor, and at some point during his tirade, her hair had fallen over her shoulders and now he couldn't see past the locks to see her expression. For a few seconds, Severus didn't know what else to say or yell at her. Finally, he spoke and his voice was quiet with serious anger. "I don't want to see you or hear you until the moment the time potion is done and you are set to leave; is that understood, Miss Snape?" Charlotte jerked her head once in a nod, not looking up at him.

Severus then rounded on Jason. "And what the hell were you thinking, Mr. Snape?! Was it worth risking death and expulsion for Evanesce?!" He would have continued, but his son was saved from further browbeating by green flames erupting in the fireplace.

Dumbledore stepped through, and it was obvious from his expression that the man had listened into the final bit of Severus' rant. In one hand, he held the chalice. "I've got a plan," he said, shortly to Snape. He glanced at the two teenagers. Charlotte's hair hid her face and Jason's expression was unreadable. "Your schedule - " he started to say.

"That won't be necessary," Severus cut in, taking the chalice from Dumbledore. "They are both going back to their dormitories and they'll stay there until I say otherwise. I'll arrange to have books sent up to them so that they can pass their time productively." Dumbledore gave Severus a disapproving look, but it was obvious that the Potions Master didn't care. "Now that you're back, I take it that the door can be opened?" Dumbledore nodded, mutely. Severus turned back to the two teenagers and finally addressed them. "You're both dismissed. Remember what I've said."

Charlotte and Jason left the room, neither of them looking at the two professors. When the door closed behind Jason, the headmaster turned to Severus with a questioning and disapproving frown, which Severus ignored. "What's the plan?" he said, instead.

xXxXx

The fifth year Ravenclaw girls' dorm was empty when Luna entered it and she assumed the others had already gone to class. Before she started looking a text that she'd lost, she set the cage down on the floor between her and Charlotte's beds. The rat was seemed quite angry now – it kept charging at the bars, almost in an attempt to break them open. Now that they were alone, Luna was tempted to release it. Hermione had been amenable to that idea, despite Ginny's insistence on feeding it to a snake.

Luna reached out toward it, but started when the rat started twitching. For a split second, she thought that something was wrong with it, but then it started growing. Luna stumbled back, her mouth dropping open in shock as the rat grew, grew large enough to push against and stretch the bars of the cage. Thinking quickly, Luna reached for her wand. "Engorgio!"

The cage grew and became stronger as the wires thickened. It stopped growing just as the transformation was complete and there was an angry, little man in the cage.

Before Luna could do anything else, the door to the dorm opened and Charlotte walked in, her form deflated and her eyes red. She started when she saw the man, but then, her eyes widened when she recognized him from history texts. Horrified, she turned to Luna.

Luna opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words to tell her what happened. She shrugged a little at Charlotte. "He… He used to be a rat," she said. She glanced at Peter and turned back to her goddaughter. "I turned him into a coachman for you."

xXxXx

Hermione was ticked off. She wasn't irritated, she wasn't angry, she was _ticked_ _off_. Truth be told, the Head Girl had one of the shortest tempers in the Wizarding World, but no one knew it because she didn't erupt as often as others with short tempers did. This time, however, she was enraged enough that it showed – her tanned face was flushed pink, her eyebrows were furrowed and she was giving off a vibe that told everyone to stay outside a ten-foot radius of her. Everyone, especially Ginny, Luna, Harry, Ron and Professor Lupin.

She'd had to listen to her two best girlfriends argue about who should get her kids after she died. Because of her inability to make a decision or give the redhead a reason for letting the Ravenclaw take both of them in case she died, things really erupted. By the time she'd managed to get away, Luna looked smug and nervous all at once, and Ginny looked ready to set another basilisk on her.

She'd gotten to DADA, and immediately found that she needed a wand for the lesson. Of course, she did – it was DADA. She now realized that it had been ridiculous to assume she could get away without one. Harry and Ron had tsk-tsked (jokingly, but Hermione decided that she didn't care) and berated her for losing her wand in the Forbidden Forest. When she'd grabbed Harry's wand and stupefied him, Lupin had checked on them to see what the matter was. When he found out what had happened, he repeated her best friends' words to her in a more serious voice (he could have been a bit more sensitive about the amdiya thing – Severus would always have more of it around if he didn't use so much after the full moon every month) and sent her to see Dumbledore about a temporary replacement until her own was found.

She might have handled all of this just a little better if she'd gotten the proper amount of sleep last night followed by an uneventful morning – an uneventful morning being one with a proper explanation from a certain dark and dastardly Potions Master without said Potions Master flying randomly out of her closet and disappearing after hexing her son.

This was why Hermione's vibe didn't tell Severus to stay away from her. She wanted to see him. And have him close enough so that she can strangle him. Everything wrong in her life was his fault anyways, from her lack of sleep to her wand going missing.

So as Hermione raged up the staircase toward the headmaster's office, luck would have it that Severus was walking down. "You!" she shrieked.

Severus froze when he saw her. His wand was in his hand and he played with the idea of hexing her so that he could avoid dealing with her. For a brief second, he wondered if Dumbledore had planned this meeting. In any case, even though Severus was a master spy who had to be good at reading people and all, he was a man first. Men never pick up when a woman is furious. Because of this, the fact that Hermione was a tad upset went right over his head. If he had noticed, he would have remembered someone – maybe it was Voldemort? – telling him to never, ever snark at a livid woman. But he didn't notice, therefore he didn't remember, therefore he snarked, "You've learned second person. Impressive – you've attained the intelligence level of a dolphin."

Hermione closed the distance between them, her eyes flashing. "I don't know what I'm about to do to you," she hissed. "But I can guarantee that it won't be pleasant, and you won't be billowing around closets for a very long time."

Severus gaped at her. "This morning," he stated. Ah, right. Her closet and the whole hexing Jason before running off with his wand bit that he'd pulled. Hardening himself, he took a step backward, stumbling a bit on the staircase. "Listen, and listen carefully. I can't see you anymore."

"That won't be a problem," Hermione cut in, snarling. "I'm going to kill you. You won't see me after you're dead."

Severus decided that she was joking. "Be serious, Hermione," he scowled. "What happened was wrong."

Hermione's eyebrows rose. "Wrong? What was _wrong_?"

"Spending the night! No matter that nothing happened!" Severus snapped. He waited for her to reply, but she only continued to look at him expectantly, as if what he'd just blurted out wasn't enough. He sighed, exasperated. "I don't do that kind of stuff. Women, marriage, children. I just don't do it."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Current and future circumstances would prove the contrary."

"Our present is in turmoil – no one can make any sane judgments in this time and age. Our future is corrupted. I won't be married and I won't have children."

"Wrong!" Hermione snapped. "You will. Because they are here."

"They won't be soon," Severus muttered.

"Right, they won't be. Because as soon as that time potion is finished, they will return to the future. Where you are happily married with children." Severus looked ready to say something, but Hermione cut him off and continued her rant. "Don't deny it. You can't change it – what would happen to them if you do?!" Severus said nothing, and Hermione frowned. "Last night - "

Severus scowled. "I don't want to talk about last night. Except to say that it was mistake. I would never have spent the night with you if I hadn't been drunk! If I had been sober, I would never, ever have agreed to such a - " His stopped short and his eyes widened. "Oh, sweet Merlin, I was _raped_!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?" she asked, sounding almost amused through her anger.

"You knew that sleeping with you – beside you – was something I'd never do unless I was drunk! And I was drunk! You knew I wasn't in the right state of mind and you took advantage of it!" He pointed his wand at her, not about to cast a hex, but in an act of accusation. "You bloody raped me!"

Hermione eyes travelled from his face to his wand and back again. "You believe you were raped?"

Severus nodded, mutely, wand still at her chest.

Hermione frowned at him, and in one swift movement – which Severus, too absorbed in his insistence that he was… Er… Raped, didn't see coming – grabbed the wand out of his hand and cast a partial body binding hex at him. He straightened, as if a rope had been wrapped around him and fell against the stairs, his back and head against the side wall. "What are you doing?!" he demanded.

Hermione kneeled down a step lower than him, so that she was sitting by his waist. "You don't want children?" she asked.

"No," Severus scowled.

Hermione looked at him and leaned a little closer. "You don't want _me_?"

Severus opened his mouth to snap 'no,' but couldn't, because she'd silenced him by placing her mouth over his own. As aforementioned, our Potions Master is a man above all else, so under the kiss, he forgot to rant about how absurd the situation was – and absurd it was. Hermione Granger, the Princess and Epitome of Gryffindor House had bound him and was kissing him against his will in the staircase leading to the Headmaster's office – and let his thoughts melt as he concentrated on her kiss. For all of her anger, she was gentle; her lips were soft and caressing against his own. It was nice. But then she pulled away, and Severus came back. He looked at her, and was, for a brief second, too shocked to say anything. "What… You just kissed me!"

Hermione gave him a small smile. "I thought it annoyed you when people pointed out the obvious?"

Severus scowled. "I'm pointing out the obvious because _you_ don't seem to have a grasp of it!" He twisted a bit in vain, trying to get out of her spell. "You. Just. Kissed. Me! What the hell would you do that for?"

Hermione mirrored his scowl. "I've tried reasoning with you, and I'm not one for begging and bribing. So, I guess I'll just keep you here and keep kissing you until you accept what's going to happen."

"You are going to _kiss_ me into accepting the future?!" Severus demanded, incredulously.

"Well, I don't really know how to cast the Cruciatus, so this is all I've got."

Severus stared at her, amazed and disbelieving that she would do this. He tried twisting again, but to no avail. Her spell held fast. "This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed, glaring up at her. "Let me go!"

Hermione shook her head, twirling his wand in her hand in a way that was scarily reminiscent of Voldemort. "I don't think so."

"Let. Me. Go." Snape snarled.

Hermione leaned in closer to him so that her face was inches away from his own. With a wicked smile, she told him in a malicious whisper, "You are or will be my husband. So, you are going to lay there and perform your husbandly duties."

Before she could kiss him again, however, there came a surprised shout from further down the staircase. Both Severus and Hermione whipped around to see a shocked Remus Lupin, who was supporting an equally shocked Harry Potter.

For a few seconds, no one moved. But then, Severus seized the opportunity and did something that he would later obliviate the four of them of. "Lupin!" he barked. "Save me!"

xXxXxXxXx

A/n

And there's chapter 13. Because I was so late with this one and have nothing else to do with life at the present, I shall endeavor and try very hard to get Chapter 14 out before June, at the latest. If you want to yell at me, google Fiction Alley Park. I will be on the message boards, just come and rant and rave about SSHG on the SSHG thread – the S.S. Potions and Prudence. :P

Next chapter:

Remus and Harry's reactions. (Unless Hermione reacts first – "Obliviate!...Problem solved." But, Hermione never reacts first.)

Hermione finds out about Severus' yelling at Jason and Charlotte. (She isn't going to punish him with kisses for this…)

Charlotte and Luna have Pettigrew caged in their room. (That sounded a tad dirtier than how it will turn out…)

Reviews always help me write faster…

Yours always,

Creatress


	14. Peter

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

I honestly tried to get it out sooner – I don't know what happened!

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 14

Remus hastily reached for his wand, but Hermione, who already had the Potions Master's wand in her hand, disarmed him as soon as he got it out. As his wand flew back over Hermione's head and landed on the steps behind her and Severus, Remus looked at them in shock. Severus waited to see what would happen next as Hermione stood silently, Severus' wand pointing at Remus. The tense silence was broken by an indignant shout from Harry.

Remus took notice of him again. "I brought him here to find you because I couldn't remove your stunner. And it wasn't safe to have him in a class full of Slytherins without being able to move," he stammered to Hermione.

Hermione glanced at the wand in her wand. "Oh…" she whispered. A little sheepishly, she removed the spell from Harry, who instantly went for his own wand. Expecting Hermione to disarm him as well, he ducked behind Remus, using him as a shield. Hermione quickly levitated Severus, who was still bound and held him in front of her.

Remus looked around in disbelief. "Harry! Hermione, this is ridiculous! I demand that you both stop it this instant!"

Harry peered around Remus. "Why _am_ I doing this?" he mused. "Hermione, I'm putting my wand away. I just remembered that I wouldn't care if Snape was tied up and raped – _Hey_!"

Remus, who'd just grabbed Harry's wand, quickly tried to unbind Severus. Nothing happened.

Hermione let out an unladylike snort. "You can't remove my stunner, but you expect to remove my binding spells?"

Remus frowned. "Right," he muttered, uncertainly. "I completely forg - " He started as Harry's wand suddenly flew out of his grasp and back to Harry's hand. Everybody whipped around to face Harry, who was now holding two wands in his hand. "Where did you get that?!" Remus demanded.

Harry smiled a little, turning to Hermione. "This is why I was teasing you in class," he said, holding a wand up. "I went out and found it for you."

Hermione's eyes widened before a touched looked crossed her face as she recognized her own wand. "Harry…" she said, gently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Severus roll his eyes a little, but chose not to mind him. "That was so sweet of you."

Harry suddenly scowled. "Don't change the subject," he growled. "What the hell is going on here?!"

Remus also whipped around to face Severus and Hermione. "This had better be good," he said, evenly, looking coldly from one of them to another.

Before Hermione could speak up, Severus scowled. "What the hell does it look like?! I'm bound – I've been forced here against my will!" he snapped.

"I'll tell you everything," Hermione started.

"Shut up, you mad woman," Severus suddenly hissed. He craned his neck as much as he could under the hex to turn around to look at her. "If you tell them while I am bound, how do you expect me to defend myself when they come to kill me?!"

Hermione looked surprised. "Oh," she gasped. "Right." She glanced at Remus and Harry, who already looked murderous. "I'll let you go, only if you swear that you won't hurt me." Severus was silent. There was a displeased frown on his face. "Do you swear?" she pressed.

"You'll have to unbind me. If they kill me, you'll lose your children," Severus muttered.

Hermione frowned. "Promise me that you won't hold this against me," she stated, but with a little less conviction then she had before.

Severus smirked, wryly. "My dear, sweet _darling_," he muttered. "I promise you that I will never forget this. That, I can guarantee."

"What's taking so long?!" Harry suddenly demanded.

Hermione groaned a little. Having no choice, she unbound Severus, who immediately grabbed his wand out of her hand. With his other hand, he grabbed her arm and pulled her ahead of him, most likely to use her as a shield. "Go ahead," he purred.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Harry, Remus, you won't believe this, but…" She paused, and glanced at the man behind her. "Charlotte and Jason are my children."

Remus straightened, his expression shocked, as he looked between them.

Harry only looked irritated. "What?" he asked. "That's impossible!" He paused. "Who the hell is Jason?"

"Harry, Charlotte is from the future," Hermione stammered. "We've been looking for ways to send her back. Last night, Jason appeared as well, with the solution."

Harry looked unsure. "Hermione, if this is some weird story you just thought of to explain..." He trailed off as a disgusted look came over his face. He gestured at the stairs. "What you two were…"

"Harry," Remus suddenly said, his voice soft and monotonous with disbelief. Harry turned to him. "It's true. Charlotte is from the future."

Now that he had confirmation, Harry whipped around to face Hermione. His heart was pounding loudly as he felt a little dizzy as he desperately tried to recall every detail on Charlotte's appearance. "Why didn't you tell us any of this?" he asked, suddenly sounding hurt.

Hermione looked apologetic and pained. "I wanted to," she said. "You don't know how badly. But in these situations, the less people who know, the better. I'm so sorry." She paused, and then, for some reason, added, "Ginny and Luna know."

Harry scowled. "Well, Ginny and Luna know – that makes all the difference in the world!" he snapped. His eyes travelled over her shoulder to rest on Severus. "Charlotte is… Yours?" He glanced at Hermione. "Both of yours?"

Remus finally spoke up again, his voice quiet. "Severus, is this true?" he asked, his voice disbelieving.

Behind Hermione, Severus nodded.

Harry suddenly whipped up both wands, one on each side of Remus and Severus jerked Hermione closer against him.

"Don't do anything stupid, Potter," Severus hissed, taking in Harry's livid expression. He could just imagine the thoughts and ideas that the boy would be jumping into.

"Harry…" Hermione said, her voice begging. "It's not his fault. It isn't anybody's fault."

Remus tried to speak up then. "I…" He looked at Harry's hands, one clutching Hermione's wand and the other holding his, and his eyes flickered to Severus, who had his wand out as well. He was in a very trying position. "I think we should all calm down."

Before Severus could add a cutting comment, there was a small creaking sound. Remus and Harry looked up and over Severus and Hermione, who glanced back.

Dumbledore was barely out of his office door when he suddenly noticed the positions of the four people on the staircase. He scanned the scene, taking in Remus' fallen wand, Severus using Hermione as a shield, and Harry, with his two wands, looking like he was holding Remus hostage. He furrowed his eyebrows in worry, having no idea what to make of the situation. (Contrary to popular opinion, the headmaster did not know all – he was no Hermione Granger.) He finally took a step back. "I'll come back later," he said, before bolting back into his office and slamming the door shut.

Severus grabbed the opportunity that appearance had presented. "Stupefy!"

And Harry fell, banging his head against the edge of a stair before Remus turned and caught him. Severus ran away, Hermione close behind him.

xXxXxXx

Charlotte and Luna gaped, their mouths open in shock, at Peter. He had, quite a few times, fired a few spells at the cage, but all of them disappeared into the bars. The cage shook a little, but held steady under his attacks.

"Oh, Gods, it's Peter Pettigrew," Charlotte muttered.

Peter, who had been scowling at the girls and looking around fearfully, looked surprised at Charlotte's comment. But before he could enquire as to how she knew him, common sense took over and he scowled ferociously at them. "Let me out of here!"

Charlotte suddenly scoffed. "Well, that'd be a stupid thing to do, wouldn't it?" She turned to Luna, who was still staring wonderingly. "I think this is where you do the responsible godmotherly thing to do, and run for help."

Luna started and, nodding, backed out of the room. Charlotte could hear her footsteps as she ran out of the common room. There was a period of silence as Charlotte turned back to stare blankly at Peter and he calmed himself down a bit.

"Who are you?" Peter suddenly asked, his voice curious.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow and frowned, before looking over Ginny's cage. She hoped it would hold. "Why would you want to know?"

"Because, my lady, I want to know the name of the girl who holds me captured," Peter answered, evenly. "I have a right."

Charlotte shook her head. "Nobody knows we have you caged here. You have no rights." She paused. "And technically, it was…" She frowned a little. "That redhead who captured you."

"Loyal, aren't you?"

Charlotte turned around to see said redhead glaring at her as she walked in the door. Luna stumbled in behind her. Charlotte wanted to groan a little as she looked at Luna. "Luna, I think you should go get _more_ help." Luna only stared, eyes wide open, at Ginny.

Ginny had stepped up to the cage with a malicious grin on her face. Peter, Charlotte suddenly noticed, had turned a little pale. "Scabbers," Ginny crooned, her tone dripping with mock affection. "I mished chou."

Charlotte's eyes widened at Ginny's nickname for the rat, and (after she guessed that "I mished chou" was supposed to be "I missed you") her jaw almost dropped at the baby talk. She had remembered that Pettigrew used to live at the Weasleys' under the guise of a rat, but still… Luna also blinked at Ginny's reaction to the animagus. "I'll go get more help," she whispered to Charlotte, before tip toeing out of the room.

Peter, for his part, shut his eyes and visibly deflated at Ginny's behaviour before he fell back onto the cage's floor in a sign of resignation and surrender. "My Lady," he greeted her, sullenly.

Ginny eyed his silvery hand, with all of its fingers in tact – that was why she hadn't realized who it was earlier. But she didn't want to talk about it, for fear that he might try to use it against the cage's bars. She cocked her head, studying him, and her curiosity got the better of her. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Shouldn't you be off playing with Lord Death and Darkness and his pet snakes?"

Peter whimpered. Ginny's – and the Dark Lord's – game of Let's Dangle the Rat In Front Snakes wasn't as original as either one of them thought it was. "No, mistress. He sent me here."

Ginny rolled her eyes to the ceiling at his answer. "Pray tell _why_?" she prompted, impatiently.

Peter was silent. His eyes grew a little rounder as he stared at the floor in front of Ginny's feet. "Umm… To find you and invite you to join the Dark Side?" he asked.

Ginny actually laughed. "I'd forgotten how utterly cute you can be!" she exclaimed. Charlotte resisted the temptation to stare incredulously at her and settled for watching Peter as he paled even more. "Oh, Shcabbersh, do you remember your bat friends?" Peter was silent, but his lower lip quivered. "Well?!" Ginny suddenly snapped.

Peter whimpered. "Yes, I do, mistress," he stammered. Charlotte, guessing that Ginny was referring to the bay bogey hex, actually felt a bit sorry for him. She reminded herself that Peter was a bad, horrid, mean little Death Eater who probably deserved it.

"They've gone quite a long time without seeing you. They've grown up since I was thirteen. If you don't want to talk to me, you can talk to them," Ginny offered, sounding sincerely kind.

Charlotte glanced sideways at her, not knowing what to think.

Peter sighed, obviously trying hard not to burst into tears. "No, my Lady, I'd rather talk to you," he answered. Charlotte thought that maybe he should have chosen the bats.

"Well?" Ginny was asking. "Why are you here?"

Peter's lower lip trembled. "I wanted to defect to the Light Side!" he exclaimed.

Ginny scowled. In a split second, her wand was in her hand and she had its tip between two bars. "Don't lie to me," she warned. Her tone was venomous enough that even Charlotte cringed away a bit. "What are you doing here, Peter?"

Peter's eyes widened as he took in the all too familiar sight of the tip of Ginny's wand. He'd been on the receiving end of two many practice hexes as a rat – the redhead wasn't much of an animal person. "To find his horcrux," he gasped. "Hufflepuff's chalice. Dumbledore has it."

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed as she eyed the man in the cage. "What?" she asked, quietly.

Charlotte's eyes widened, as she remembered Dumbledore's worried mutterings the night before. She almost jumped back when Ginny rounded on her.

"Watch him!" the redhead barked. With that, she turned and strode purposely out of the room, flicking the door shut behind her with her wand.

Charlotte stiffly turned to Peter, who was now watching her with a rather curious expression. She slowly lowered herself onto the edge of her bed, unable to break eye contact with the strange creature in the cage.

Peter suddenly nodded toward the room door. "She scares me," he said, matter-of-factly.

Charlotte knew he was referring to Ginny. She suddenly found herself nodding. "She scares me, too."

Peter leaned forward a bit. "And what might be _your_ problem, mistress?"

Charlotte stared blankly at him. "My problem?" she asked.

"Your eyes are red," Peter pointed out. "You've been crying."

Thoughts of what had happened in the morning, all of which had been swept from Charlotte's mind when she'd walked in the room to find Pettigrew caged beside her bed, came rushing back to her. "Oh," she whispered. "Right." She glanced at Pettigrew and wondered what would happen if, no, _when_ her father finds out that they'd entrapped the animagus, and then she'd sat around having a conversation with him about how scary her ex-Godmother could be. "It was nothing."

"_Nothing_ doesn't make your eyes red," Peter muttered as his eyes flickered around the cage. He almost seemed like he was sniffing the air, but Charlotte thought that he must be looking for a way out. He seemed a lot calmer now that Ginny was out of the room. "My Lord says that crying shows weakness."

Charlotte was silent. Her father thought that, too. The thought made her blood run a little colder, even as she firmly tried telling herself that there must be a lot of men who thought that.

"You haven't told me your name yet," Peter suddenly said, fixing his beady eyes on her.

Charlotte shifted uncomfortably on the bed. It bothered her that Peter didn't seem as afraid of her as he was of Ginny. "Why would you want to know the name of someone who keeps you captive?" she frowned. She answered her own question. "So that you can take revenge. Given that, why would I give you my name?"

Peter shrugged, and then nodded. "I understand."

Charlotte frowned a little. "Why did you run right at us?"

Peter looked angry with himself. "There was that boy with you. In the darkness, I thought it was Snape. Between the two of us, I figured we could capture you four girls."

Charlotte's heart thudded loudly for a second before she raised an eyebrow. "Well," she stammered. "I disagree. He looks nothing like Professor Snape."

Peter started and turned to her with a curious expression. "When I said that Snape and I could have captured you, I implied he was a Death Eater." He frowned. "Why didn't you react then?"

xXxXx

Luna was running through the halls, trying to find someone she could talk to about Peter. However, the first Order member she ran into was Remus, but he was busy fighting with Harry. The DADA professor's face lit up when he saw her, though.

"Luna!" Remus exclaimed. Harry whipped around to face her, as well, and Luna stopped short at the look on his face. "Luna, he knows. He knows everything and now he wants to murder Professor Snape."

"Why had no one told me about this?!" Harry demanded.

Luna inhaled, sharply. "Harry…" She began gently.

"That's great," Remus interrupted. "Calm him down, Luna." He turned and bolted toward the dungeons.

Harry furiously waved Luna off. "I will _not_ calm down! Snape, he… He…" Harry started sputtering, unable to find the words to continue his tirade.

"He married Hermione and had two beautiful children with her?" Luna suggested, trying to be helpful.

Harry let out an angry, frustrated roar and punched the wall.

Luna tried again, her voice slightly sarcastic this time. "He carried her off and raped her against her will?"

"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed. He scowled. "That's exactly what happened!"

"Technically, it hasn't happened yet."

Harry started pacing the empty hallway, looking murderous. "I'll kill him!"

Luna looked a bit thoughtful. "Can you do that later?" she asked. "You see, we have Peter Pettigrew caged in our room and we don't really know what to do with him." She stopped, taking in Harry's disbelieving look. "Can you come help? Please?"

xXxXx

As soon as he was free of Harry, Remus sprinted down to the dungeons where he knew Severus had run to after stupefying the Boy Wonder and fixing his stomach after Hermione hit him. Hermione, who was supposed to have gone to class, actually decided to skip lessons all for the purpose of following Severus to further torment – er, persuade him into accepting what was coming.

Remus' mind was numb with the millions of shots of thoughts as he ran. He didn't know what to think, but there was the smallest voice at the back of his head that told him that it all fit, that it was all possible. He found himself playing a mental game of Mr. Potato Head. He took the eyes, eyebrows and nose off the Severus potato and stuck it onto another potato that was either Charlotte or Jason – Remus hadn't decided which yet – and then, he took the lips of the Hermione potato and added it to the kid potato… Jason had Severus' lips, so the kid potato was Charlotte… Maybe he should get another potato for Jason? But then, Severus' lab door suddenly whacked Remus in the face and ended his little game.

Remus stumbled back, a little dazed after having run into the door. He frowned, and then opened it, charging into the room. He found Severus and Hermione bent over the new time turning potion, both silent, but looking quite deadly. The sound of the door opening had caught their attention because they both looked up at him.

"Professor!" Hermione started to say something, but then she frowned. "You're red – you're hardly breathing!" she exclaimed. "Come sit down."

Remus shut the door, but didn't allow Hermione to push him into a chair. Instead he tightly grasped her hand as he tried to catch his breath in between shouting at them… This was rather difficult because he really didn't know what he was saying.

"Professor, you aren't making any sense," Hermione said, looking a little worried. Her hand was beginning to hurt.

Remus finally straightened. "You!" he gasped, pointing to Hermione with his free hand. He turned to Severus. "And _you_!" Hermione tried to say something, but Remus cut her off. "Don't, Hermione. I don't know what is going on, but…" He looked from one of them to the other. "How long has this been going on?!" he demanded.

"It hasn't!" Hermione immediately exclaimed. "I swear, it hasn't! It was just as much a shock for us as it was for you when Jason accidentally told us! I _fainted_!" Beside her, Severus silently nodded.

Remus stared at Severus for a long moment, before he turned to Hermione. "I… I don't know what to think," he said.

"You _think_?" Severus snorted.

Remus glared at him. He stiffened, but turned silently to Hermione. "Hermione, in the staircase, I was too shocked to react. I just knew that I had to keep Harry from killing Severus, or else Charlotte and Jason would be killed right with him. Even during that second before Severus just had that _revelation_ about how I think…" Remus scowled at Severus in a very Snapesque way. "… I had no idea what to make of any of this. But now, I think I can see a little clearer. I think I know what I have to do." He turned back to Hermione and his gaze softened the tiniest bit. "Do you know what I see when I look at you?"

"Wild hair caused by an overactive brain?" Severus muttered.

Both Remus and Hermione decided to ignore him. Hermione mutely shook her head.

Remus' grip lessened. "I see the little girl whose opinion of me wasn't affected when she found out I was a werewolf. The little girl who trusted me until the final moment, whose trust wavered for about two seconds of insane fear before she was back. The one who reached out to Sirius and helped rescue him from a ghastly fate, even though doing so was far worse than breaking school rules – it was breaking the law." Hermione, who had been smiling at her list of accomplishments, suddenly frowned and paled. Severus, who had been bored out of his mind, laughed out loud. Remus quickly continued. "But it's okay, because nobody's going to tell." He coughed and continued. "Anyways… I hadn't really noticed you grow up. So, you can't hold it against me when I do this because I am doing it for you, Hermione." He turned to Severus. "Severus?"

Severus looked at him, suspiciously. "What?"

"DIE!"

Hermione couldn't find her voice to scream, only stared in horrified awe as Remus and Severus rolled around on the floor, fighting in a manner than was rather… She frowned, growing a little annoyed. It was like a fully-clothed male version of a Girls Gone Wild bitch fight.

She finally yelped when they rolled into a leg of the table that held the time turner potion. Thankfully, there was no harm done, but it was enough to push her to take action. She took out her wand and swiftly stupefied both of them from the neck down.

She smirked at the positions they were in – they were both on their sides, facing each other, their bodies quite… Close. Severus had grabbed the side of Remus' collar and his other fist was about two millimeters away from the side of the werewolf's head. Frozen, the stopped punch looked like Severus was caressing Remus with his thumb. Remus was apparently not as good a fighter as the Potions Master – both of his hands were on his friend's chest in an attempt to push him away. A tad ironic, considering Remus was the one to have started the fight in the first place. Both men protested angrily at her, but she shook her head. "You two can stay there," she said, stepping over them and heading toward the door. "Until you work it out." The men watched with sinking feelings as she left the room, locking the door behind her.

"When is Hermione coming back?" Remus asked, sounding worried.

Severus scowled. "I think a more pressing question is what the hell did you _eat_?" He backed off as much as he could from Remus' face.

"I had omelet for breakfast," Remus told him. He smirked as Severus recoiled as much as he could, but the feeling quickly passed as he reflected on what had just happened. "How long have you known?"

Severus frowned, forcing himself to forget about the damned smell of eggs coming from the DADA professor's mouth. "Last night. We found out when Jason appeared."

Remus looked thoughtful. "Hermione looks fine," he remarked. At the raised eyebrow he got, he elaborated. "I mean, she isn't crying and mourning her future." He paused. "Like you are."

Severus almost rolled his eyes. "She's just keeping everything in for Mr. and Ms. Snapes' sakes." Remus burst out laughing. "What?" Severus snapped.

Remus snickered. "You just referred to your own children as Mr. and Ms. Snape."

Severus scowled. "As you've taken to reminding me so often in the recent past, those are their names, aren't they?"

Remus stopped laughing and furrowed his eyebrows. "I have never heard you say Charlotte's name."

Severus shrugged as much as he could. "What about it? I don't usually run around calling students by their first names."

"In formal situations," Remus added. "But this is informal. Why won't you call them by their first names?" Severus didn't answer, and Remus continued. "Because calling someone by their first name indicates a deeper bond between you and said person. It means you have a personal relationship – it's more than a mere acquaintance or a colleague or… A burden," he mused.

"Obviously, you've spent a lot of time pondering this. Is Tonks really that tedious?" Severus snarked.

Remus frowned. "Say 'Charlotte.'"

"Why?" Severus retorted.

Remus gave him a challenging look. "Fine, say 'Jason.'" Severus gave him a murderous look and Remus sighed. "It isn't difficult, Severus." He paused. "We'll talk about something else then."

"Or we can lay here silently and you can just save your foul breath," Severus growled.

Remus ignored both his friend and the urge to blow into his friend's face. "What will you do about Hermione?" he suddenly asked.

"I won't do anything about her," Severus replied immediately. "After her children are gone, I plan on staying as far away from that chit as possible."

Remus snorted. "Fate won't let you," he said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that _fate_ and _destiny_ are all rubbish?" Severus cut in.

Remus frowned. "Fine. Let's, just for a moment, pretend that you can somehow change everything and none of it will happen." He took in the smirk Severus sported then and hoped Hermione would lose a book for rendering him unable to smack it off the Potions Master's face. "Severus, I'm being serious. If you can change it all and Charlotte and Jason are never born, won't you miss them?" Severus, as expected, immediately shook his head. "Think about this. Be honest. With yourself and with me. Would you not miss your children if they were to vanish into the threads of time and fate to never be seen again? Take a moment. Think about this. Please."

Severus thought. He thought about the last few days of Charlotte's visits, what it had revealed about the future that may be, and about Jason's presence as well. He thought about the two's appearances and personalities. He thought and reflected and pondered. "Hell, no."

xXxXx

It was mentioned earlier in this twisty, turny story (chapter 3, I believe) that Hermione tends to run into people a lot when she doesn't watch where she's going. Well, most people tend to do that, but by now, it's pretty obvious that Severus Snape isn't 'most people.' While our dear Potions Master failed to pass on his superhuman grace and control to his daughter (if he had, maybe this whole 'mess' could have been avoided… maybe), he had succeeded in passing it onto his son.

Jason S.T. Snape never _ran_ into anyone. Neither did he walk, bump, stumble into or experience any other kind of unexpected bodily impacts with others… Unless he wanted to. But that would make the impacts expected, wouldn't it?

So it was only unexpected to Hermione when she walked into Jason in the library. She had left the labs, having no idea what to do with her time. She felt too sick to go to class – what was the point anyway? The DADA class couldn't go on. Remus was stupefied on Severus' floor, being forced to talk about his feelings.

Hermione's eyes widened and she couldn't keep a smile, albeit a puzzled one, off her face at seeing Jason between two shelves in the library. "Hey!" She rushed over to him. "What are you doing here?" she whispered. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

Jason had parted ways with his sister (who he was actually feeling very sorry for) to go stew in anger over his father's tirade. The business with the time travelling had been mostly his fault – Charlotte hadn't even known that the Evanesce would take her back. He realized that what he'd done was stupid, and his father would have continued to yell at him if the headmaster had not appeared, but why had he stopped to yell at Charlotte first? His sister had only been trying to help. It was true that she messed up horribly and did some very stupid things, but…

It was usually a competition between them – watching their father browbeat Charlotte had always been particularly amusing to Jason. Charlotte had her fun watching Jason get into trouble as well. There had been only a handful of times – either one of them could count the instances on their ten fingers – when their father's ire had caused one sibling to feel for the other.

Guilt and anger weighed heavily on Jason and pushed him to even out the odds between himself and Charlotte versus their father. They just couldn't win on their own.

Feeling safe in the guess that his father would not go to the Slytherin common rooms to check up on him, Jason had wandered through the castle, looking for his mother. Call the young man a tattletale if you must, but… Who the hell else could he have gone to?

He had spotted her in the hallways far from the dungeons, so had remained hidden until she reached the library. He entered a few moments after her and then positioned himself behind the shelf before preparing a surprised his face for when she'd see him.

Jason gave Hermione a look of perplexity. "Shouldn't _you_ be in class?" he asked.

Hermione smiled a little. "It's a long story. Class got cancelled." She looked up at him and suddenly noticed that his form was tense and his face was ashen. "What happened?" she asked, concerned. "You… You look…" She suddenly glanced around. "And you aren't in class. What happened?"

"I don't have classes. I came in here to get a book to read while I stayed in my dormitory," Jason answered, slowly, his dark eyes shifting to the shelves.

Hermione looked confused. "What? Why don't you have classes? I thought Professor Dumbledore said you do?"

Jason frowned and pulled a heavy text off the shelf. His voice was thick and controlled in its quiet mutter. "Well, Father has decided I don't. Neither does Charlotte." He turned back to Hermione when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Why did he pull you out of classes?" Her eyes were narrowed. She obviously wasn't happy about this development.

Jason told her about their meeting in the headmaster's office.

xXxXx

"'Hell, no?'" Remus echoed. He scowled. But before he could react, the door burst in and Hermione stormed in. She unfroze them with a flick of her wand and both men scrambled up. Remus immediately saw that something was wrong – her eyes were glazed and she looked furious. Certainly enough, she stepped right up to Severus.

"This morning, you yelled at them?" she asked. Her voice was oddly controlled. Severus didn't know Hermione well enough, but Remus started inching toward the door. He was able to escape the scene unnoticed.

Severus scowled, immediately catching on. "Yes, about the time travelling," he said. He frowned. "Don't you dare throw a hissy fit about it. Any responsible…" He trailed off. He'd been about to say "parent." "Any responsible adult would have done the same."

"Not like that," Hermione hissed. "What you said was horrible."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Horrible?"

"You called them a distraction! You basically told them they were unwanted!" Hermione snapped. She took some satisfaction in seeing him taken aback for a second. "I can't believe you just raged at her like that! She must feel terrible! What did you think you were doing?!"

"I was dealing with the situation!" Severus cut in. "What in hell would you have done?! Act like all of this is fine?! You're the one constantly harping about obeying rules to your friends."

"And you are the head of the house who values cunning," Hermione retorted. "You were just looking for an excuse to make them feel worse about everything."

"Right," Severus muttered, sarcastically. "I went about looking for an honest excuse so that I could waste my precious time yelling at two teenagers who will not exist either way."

"Stop saying that!" Hermione snapped. "Just because you keep repeating it like a deranged mantra doesn't mean it'll make them go away!" She paused. "Why would you call her a distraction?! Do you realize what that it implies?!"

"I called her a distraction because she is one!" Severus retorted. "It implies exactly what I meant it to imply. I hate that little - "

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Hermione interrupted.

Severus looked at her evenly. Very calmly, he said, "I hate - "

"Severus!" Remus stumbled in the doorway. He looked pale and frightened. "She's gone! Charlotte's gone!"

"What?" Severus asked.

"I don't even know what happened," Remus stuttered. "But Peter Pettigrew has her. Charlotte's been kidnapped."

xXxXxX

A/N

DUN DUN DUN!!

Here's what'll happen the next chapter:

How Charlotte got kidnapped

Everybody at the castle reacts to the news

Charlotte and Voldemort have a conversation (With tea and cupcakes! … Not)

REVIEW!!

Luv

Creatress


	15. Tea and Cupcakes and Angst

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

I updated!! And took less time than a month! Weeeeeee!!

Luv

Creatress

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Chapter 15

Harry stared in shock at the spot in front of the window where Pettigrew had stood with Charlotte in front of him a mere two seconds ago. The capture that had just taken place kept replaying over and over in his head. He was now alone in the room, Luna having run off to find a teacher and Pettigrew and Charlotte having flown away on a broomstick. Ginny's cage lay smashed and splintered, its silvery shards all over the room. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

He suddenly felt dizzy as he thought of what might happen to Charlotte. He didn't know her very well, and he may loathe her father – but she was Hermione's daughter. How could he harbor any ill feelings toward the child of his best friend? A wave of nausea washed over him as scenarios of what might happen to Charlotte came up along with possible ways Hermione might react. He felt sick with fear – what if they tortured her?

Harry had followed Luna to the dormitory, quite sure that the blonde was playing a joke on him as she babbled about what had happened in the forest, about Ginny's cage, etc, etc. When he came in and saw that she'd been serious, he had immediately flown into a rage – this was the man who was responsible for his parents' deaths. His betrayal had cost them their lives.

Harry had already raised his wand between two of the bars and Luna's panicked yell for him not to do anything came too late. He'd been aiming for Pettigrew, but the rat ducked out of the way. The Sectum Sempra curse whipped passed him and hit a few of the bars. The bars splintered and crumbled to the floor as soon as the curse hit them. Pettigrew, now tipped off that the Sectum Sempra was powerful enough to break the bars, fired the curse everywhere around him and soon, the cage had been blown to bits.

Harry, Luna and Charlotte had been unprepared for the burst of attacks and had to turn away and close their eyes against the exploding silver. When the dust settled enough, Charlotte had realized too late that she was dangerously close to the Death Eater – she'd been at the side of the cage, just beside her bed, whereas her godparents had been in the doorway. Pettigrew must have realized it too, because he quickly lunged forward and grabbed her, pulling her in front of him to use her as a shield. He had wrapped his powerful, silvery hand around Charlotte's neck, which wordlessly warned Harry and Luna not to do anything. He then quickly accioed a broomstick out from one of the beds, and then they'd gone out the window.

Harry couldn't get the look on Charlotte's face out of his mind. She'd found it hard to breathe because of Pettigrew's hand wrapped around her throat, and couldn't have gone for her wand either because he would have noticed. She'd looked so scared at what was happening, so helpless.

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by noise behind him. Hermione suddenly appeared at his side, and she too stared, horrified at the scene before her. He knew he should probably say something to comfort her, but couldn't make himself move or talk. He just watched numbly as she took a few steps forward and covered her mouth with both of her hands as she looked around the room.

Snape came in immediately after. He scanned the room briefly, his eyebrows furrowed, before he walked past Hermione to the window and stared out of it. Harry suddenly found himself wondering what Snape was feeling.

xXxXxXxXx

Severus never wore his heart on his sleeve. He barely even wore it in the darkest corners of his own mind – he himself barely acknowledged that he felt any emotions for certain things or people in the world. But there was no denying the ice cold terror that gripped at his whole being. He had never known fear before – everything that he thought he'd been afraid of… Torture, death, the past, the future… Those things weren't frightening. _This_, what he was feeling at the moment, was true fear.

There was something else Severus was feeling. It had started to settle on his shoulders as he'd listened to the Lovegood girl worriedly recount what had happened. Guilt. Soul – crushing guilt. His daughter had been captured and it was his fault. It was his curse – one he created himself – that had finally brought down Weasley's cage. It was he who'd set Charlotte up to be abducted – if he hadn't banished her to the dormitory this morning, she would have been in class and out of harm's way.

Severus turned away from the blank, lifeless sky and turned back to the room. Remus stood in the doorway, looking worried and scared. Potter and Lovegood were huddled at one of the room – Potter looked shocked and speechless. Lovegood was murmuring quietly to him, occasionally glancing at her brunette friend, worriedly. Severus followed her gaze.

Hermione had reacted the same was Potter did. She'd sunken onto the edge of Charlotte's bed, and was staring rigidly at the spot where the bottom of the cage sat undamaged. There was no telling what she was feeling right now.

There was a gentle tugging at his arm and Severus' attention was taken away from her. "Severus? Severus, come outside," Remus muttered, pulling him out of the room. Severus obeyed robotically, following Remus out, never once looking away from the window until they were out of the room and Remus turned him to face him. "You need to calm down," he said. "Albus is calling the Order. We'll get her back."

Severus started a bit. "No," he said, suddenly. "I will. I'm going to get her back. Now." He started walked, but Remus grabbed him.

"No!" the werewolf exclaimed. "You can't go back without that chalice, but Albus isn't done with it yet."

"Why can't I?! Pettigrew did!"

"Because he has Charlotte," Remus pointed out. "What would be your excuse? We can't let him find out that you're her father. He'll start wondering things. If he figures out anything else, he would kill her for sure!" He shook Severus' arm a little. "We're going to meet some other members. Kingsley and Albus' new spy are waiting in his office. We'll act soon. We will get her back." Severus said nothing. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," Severus muttered.

"She'll be fine," Remus stated, confidently.

"How would you know?" Severus scowled.

Remus smiled a little. "Unlike you, I've actually spent some time with her. That girl can talk her way out of anything." He squeezed Severus' arm and started leading him out of the common room. "She'll be fine."

xXxXxXx

Charlotte was going to _die_. Because Peter has decided that he would kill her.

During the while they'd been in the air, she'd asked him a million questions – Why did he kidnap her? What not try for Harry? What about Luna? Is he this sloppy with his other Death Eater duties? _How angry did he think his mistress would be when she came up to find her cage in pieces?!_ He ignored most of them, and finally shut her up by telling her that he had to concentrate on flying because he was horrible at it.

Now that they'd apparated and were on the ground, she'd started up again. Peter didn't answer - just felt a headache coming on as he took her wand and led her into the house that they'd appeared in front of. Even as Peter led her through the halls of the Riddle house, she was asking him about the _housekeeping_ of all things.

"Why is everything so dusty?" Charlotte looked around with seemingly honest curiousity. "It doesn't take much to charm a rag, you know."

Peter stopped and stared at her in amazement. "Dust?! I've just captured you and you're commenting on the _dust_?!"

Charlotte looked at him for a moment with wide, innocent eyes and gave him a shrug. "Just curious is all." Over Peter's shoulder, she saw two Death Eaters, robed and masked, come down a hallway and turn a corner. A jolt of fear shooting through her, she stiffened.

Peter narrowed his little eyes at her in suspicion before he finally grabbed her arm and led her to a door. "I don't want to burst in on his Lordship with you," he announced. He opened the door to reveal a bedroom that was just about the size of her own room at home. It had probably once been well designed and homey, but now all of its furnishings were coming apart. "You'll stay in here until I send for you." He pushed her in.

Charlotte turned and actually waved good-bye at him. Peter stared at her, obviously not knowing what to think, before he slammed the door shut and locked it.

Charlotte couldn't blame the rat – she was behaving differently than most people probably would. It wasn't that she was trying to drive him insane; she was just testing the waters. As soon as she'd been dragged onto that broom, she'd known that she was in trouble. It was the inner Slytherin in her that'd told her (in a familiar, deep tone) to calm down, don't do anything stupid, and to figure out a way to help herself in the situation. She wanted to know how short a temper Peter had and how he'd handle strangeness and differences. It was good – he was much more laid back than she would have thought him to be. In any case, he much less irritable and seemed to be easier to manipulate than her own father. That was a good thing.

Now wandless and alone, Charlotte stared around the room, assessing her situation. She'd been kidnapped and was about to taken to the Dark Lord, who is known well for his slightly irritable nature. The only people who knew she was gone were her godparents, and, reflecting on the stories that had been told to her and her own personal experiences, Harry would not go get a teacher. He was probably on a firebolt, flying around the grounds, trying to figure out where they could have taken her… She probably shouldn't expect help for a long, _long_ while.

A lump rose in her throat and she forced it down, trying to keep calm. Getting distraught would never help matters, she told herself firmly. I should stop crying and see about getting out of here alive.

She had no weapon. A weapon would be really useful. She looked around the room and came across a silver candle stick. Good for hitting people with. But what use would that be against Voldemort? She couldn't as well rap his knuckles with it so that he'd drop his wand.

Charlotte scowled looking around the room. On that note, she couldn't really expect to find anything more useful. There wouldn't be a wand amidst this rubbish, would there? Sighing, she tucked the candlestick away into her robes, careful to conceal it well.

Charlotte wandered around the room, trying to figure out what she could do. There was no way she could escape the house. The layout was very familiar, almost like she'd been there before, but she couldn't place why. If she'd ever been in an old house with such dirty, old and haggard furnishings, she would have remembered it. But even as she sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully looked around the room, she couldn't keep a feeling of familiarity from shooting through her. The room had the same shape of her own room. The Snape house was newly built, but, she supposed, the floor plans may have been the same.

Charlotte got up and sauntered over to the window – its glass was shattered. However, there was no way of getting out through it. The nearest tree – elm, Charlotte noted wryly – was several meters away from the house. Sighing dejectedly, she went back to perch on the edge of the bed and started planning out answers to give to the hard questions she was sure to receive.

xXxXxXx

After failing to find anybody she could tell about Pettigrew, Ginny had come back to the Ravenclaw dormitory. The second she walked in the room, she knew something was wrong – for one thing, her cage had been smashed to smithereens and three of her best friends were standing around moping. "What happened?!" she demanded, moving to sit down beside Hermione.

Hermione looked up and frowned at Harry and Luna. "Ginny, I've decided that you get Charlotte," she muttered.

Ginny's eyebrows rose and she smiled for a second. "I get Charlotte?" She turned around to face Luna, who blinked.

Harry looked confused. "What?" he asked.

Luna patted his arm. "I'll tell you later," she said. Turning to the redhead, she filled her in about Charlotte's kidnapping.

Ginny's eyes widened. "They have her now?!" she exclaimed.

Harry sank down onto Luna bed, sitting across from Hermione. "I'm so sorry, Hermione," he murmured. "You must hate me."

Luna sat down next to Harry and looked imploringly at the brunette. "We tried, Hermione. We honestly did. I meant to go get Professor Lupin as soon as I saw Pettigrew here, but then he ran off to find you…" She trailed off. "It all happened so fast."

Hermione shook her head. "I know. Nobody means to get anyone kidnapped," she said, quietly. "I know you did whatever you could. I keep thinking about what might happen to her."

"What?" Harry asked, weakly. Once again, horrid images of them torturing the chestnut-haired Ravenclaw came to mind and he struggled to push the thoughts away.

Hermione choked on a sob. "It's just Professor Snape has come to the infirmary so often looking like…" Her voice broke and she buried her face in her hands. Harry reached forward and placed a gentle hand on her knee. "Charlotte's only a teenager." The brunette's voice was muffled by her hands. "If Voldemort could do that to one of his own spies, could hurt a fully grown man like that, what could happen to Charlotte…"

Ginny suddenly snorted loudly before she squeezed Hermione's shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, Mione. He wouldn't harm her, unless he was to try to torture her for information, and knowing Charlotte, she would probably talk her way out of it." She paused for a second. "He's actually quite easy for girls to manipulate, if you're careful." She smiled wryly for half a second. "And as for _your_ husband - " she paused to smirk sadistically at Harry, who had winced and scowled at her words. "He's probably just getting hurt in battles."

Hermione turned to her, eyes wide. "What? How?"

Ginny shook her head. "You – Know – You doesn't just sit around torturing his followers all day for no reason," she said. "They'd leave him. A leader would know to act better than that." She nodded, thoughtfully. "He won't just go in and start cursing her. He'll do that if she doesn't cooperate. Judging from what I know about Charlotte, what she knows and how she'll act, he won't have to do it."

"She'll be fine?" Hermione asked, looking up at her hopefully.

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "She should be." Before she could any other words of comfort, the door to the dormitory opened and Severus appeared in the doorway.

The Potions Master beckoned to Hermione. "I need to speak with you," he said. His tone was as cool and expressionless as ever.

Hermione got up and followed him out of the room after a nod to the three around her. He led her to a corner of the dormitory before turning to look at her soberly. "What's happening?" she asked, her amber eyes darting toward the entrance.

Severus frowned a little. "We've been talking to two spies who're keeping their eyes on her," he said. "So far, she's just been put into a room and nobody's spoken to her since. The Dark Lord had other matters to attend to, so he'll be speaking to her later."

"Can't they just help her escape while he's gone?" Hermione asked.

"No, there are quite a few Death Eaters there now. Not to mention Pettigrew is with them," Severus muttered. "It's impossible. The house is heavily warded and guarded. The only way is for me to go and convince him to let me take her back or get her out of there later when there are fewer people there." He paused. "They're preparing for a raid tonight. The numbers won't dwindle until late this afternoon – he would want to see her long before then. That leaves me going to try and get her out, but we're not finished with the chalice yet." He had to look away from her then.

Hermione didn't say anything or shout angrily or blame him or do anything he expected. Instead, she stared blankly at his chest – Severus felt her gaze reach the very core of him. Maybe it was because he'd studied the children so closely this morning, but he suddenly realized that he'd never really looked at her – everything about her was gold and warmth. Not just her physical attributes, but her personality, as scary and Gryffindor as it was, was warm. Warmth. He'd been walking around all morning with ice in his veins. The coldness of fear and guilt – he'd had two shots of brandy and it hadn't warmed him. Neither did working feverishly or doing anything to get Charlotte back.

Would she get rid of his agony? He suddenly wanted to hold her against him, against all rational thought, just in any attempt to heal this aching. This rue and this fear – see if she can take it away… But he didn't move to do so.

"You can't go back without the chalice," Hermione murmured.

Severus looked at her in shock. He'd been expecting her to tell her to risk his own life to go back and get Charlotte back.

Hermione glanced at him. "I don't want you to risk it. Besides, if anything happens to you because you hadn't gotten the chalice back, Charlotte would be done for." Severus didn't reply and she glanced at him to see him turn away from her to stare out a window. He was so tense… It was obvious that the situation was bothering him. If he really was as careless and hateful of Charlotte as he said he was, he'd be making sarcastic comments and cuttingly make fun of the capture. She wanted to hug him, to offer him some sort of support, but he would never accept it.

Severus looked at her somberly. "I can't wait for the chalice," he stated. "I'll be leaving soon."

"That won't help either of you. You need a better plan," Hermione said, dropping her gaze back to his chest.

"This isn't up for discussion," Severus said, his voice hard and firm. "I just thought you should know."

Hermione's head whipped up and she stared at him. Her eyes were glazed over. Severus had to turn and walk quickly away from her. It got considerably colder as he moved away from her presence. As soon as he disappeared, a hand fell on Hermione's shoulder. She turned around to face Harry.

"What did he want?" Harry asked, glancing after their Potions Professor.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but found that she couldn't. Instead, she crumbled into her friend's arms, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.

xXxXx

The door burst open, and Charlotte jumped to her feet from the bed. The first Death Eater who entered had a mask drawn over his face, but Charlotte thought there was something familiar about him. He wasn't tall enough to be her father, though. Peter came in after him and beckoned her over. "His Lordship will see you now."

Charlotte felt her heart leap into her throat, but she walked over and let Peter lead her through the house. She willed her stomach to settle and her nerves to calm. If she didn't play her part right for the meeting, she would surely be killed. She silently prayed that the Dark Lord would believe what she fed him.

They finally stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, and Peter knocked. The door was opened by yet another masked Death Eater and Charlotte felt his eyes on her for a few seconds before he opened the door wider to let the three of them in. This room was a sitting room – save for the light given off by the fire in the fireplace, it was very dark. As Peter pulled her toward the armchair in front of the fire, the two masked Death Eaters followed and stepped off to the side before the one who came to pick up Charlotte bowed to the figure in the chair.

Charlotte willed herself to try to stay calm and to keep her curiousity in check. The whole time she'd been in the room, she hadn't allowed herself to look up into the face of the devil himself, but even through her fear, her accursed curiousity kept edging her to look at him. Suddenly, Peter stopped about two meters in front of the armchair and Charlotte almost walked into him, but stopped herself in time. As Peter lowered himself onto his knee, she remembered herself and her plan. Startling the animagus beside her, she dropped into a low curtsy.

"Look at me, girl."

A jolt of fear stabbed straight through her and she willed herself to calm down. He was going to read her mind. If she failed this, there was nothing she could do to get out of here in one piece.

"My lord," Charlotte replied, pleased that she was able to keep her voice even. The thought gave her some relaxation, and therefore, some control back over her nerves. She raised her head, but she'd barely looked at him before fiery red eyes invaded her thoughts and memories of the day's morning started shooting through her head. Charlotte struggled to remember, without showing to Voldemort – this was hard – what her father had taught her… She'd practiced in the bedroom. Only show him what was safe, block out with all her will what she couldn't afford for him to see. She showed him her and Luna going downstairs, and then an older memory of meeting her mother and Ginny at the Hall, then all of them going to the forest, then Peter attacking them as a rat. Instead of showing him that she'd gone to the Headmaster's office (a memory she'd been trying to repress anyway), she followed the entrance to the castle with her going to the washroom, and finally, her going back to her dormitory to find a caged man beside her bed. After a few minutes of watching Ginny abuse Peter, the Dark Lord left her thoughts.

Charlotte dropped her gaze back to the floor and inwardly sighed with relief. That had been easier because, one, she'd practiced – thank Peter for his manners – and two, he didn't suspect her to be good with these mind games, and therefore, hadn't suspected her to lie or cover up anything. He'd been mercifully, _carelessly_ gentle.

There was a bit of rustling before Voldemort spoke, his voice a soft hiss. "What is your name?" he asked.

Charlotte gulped a little, but tried to keep her voice steady. "Charlotte Semele Spena, my lord," she answered. She could feel his eyes burning into the top of her head.

Voldemort didn't say anything for a second. "What is your connection with Potter's friends?" he asked.

Charlotte's heart thudded, loudly as she struggled to remember what she'd rehearsed in the room. "Nothing really, my lord. I'm Luna Lovegood's roommate, so we talk."

"And Ginevra Weasley?"

"She's in our year," Charlotte answered. She hastily added, "My lord."

"What about Granger?"

"She's a year above us, my Lord. She's close to Lovegood, so I know a lot about her and Ginevra Weasley."

"Why were you with them in the forest today?" Voldemort asked.

Charlotte inwardly took a deep breath. "This morning, I ended up going downstairs with Lovegood. Anyways, Granger and Weasley met us near the Great Hall. Granger lost her wand in the forest, and they needed help finding it." She frowned a little. "I'd wondered why they didn't just use a locator charm. But I didn't tell them, because I wanted to find the thing myself and then maybe send it to her in pieces. I mean, I don't really talk to her much, but, she can be really annoying and…" Charlotte let her voice trail off. "And, well, you know." She forced herself to think of Tom, of her most embarrassing moments, of _anything_ that would make her flush.

"No, I don't know," Voldemort suddenly stated. "Please enlighten me."

Charlotte could hear a bit of irritation in his voice and her skin crawled a bit. But, she was glad he was asking for her to elaborate. "Well," she said, taking a deep breath, outwardly this time. "She's a Gryffindor, and one of Potter's best friends. And I…" She hesitated the tiniest bit. "I thought that, after graduation, that I would be coming here." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two masked Death Eaters whip around to face her and now she could feel their gazes on the side of her head.

"What do you mean?" the Dark Lord asked, sounding, at the very least, intrigued.

"I'd planned to join you after graduation," Charlotte said. Once again, she quickly remembered and added, "My lord." She paused for a second and decided to continue. "I hadn't planned _this_. I'd imagined something a little more graceful and impressive." She bowed her head lower. Voldemort didn't reply for a second and Charlotte prayed that she'd inched toward his good (or less bad) graces a little. Honestly, she hadn't expected her future 'plans' to impress him, but it was _something_.

Voldemort finally spoke. "Had you known Severus Snape was my spy?"

Charlotte pretended to gasp a little. "Oh my - " She started. "I'd always suspected, but I never knew for sure. But then Peter did say something this morning – I'd almost thought he was being sarcastic."

"You'd always suspected?"

Charlotte shrugged a little. "I suppose I'm observant, my lord," she said. "One time, he was yelling at these Gryffindors and he suddenly stopped when his left arm had stiffened the tiniest bit – I don't think anyone else had noticed. But then, he ran off quite quickly afterwards." She let herself hesitate a bit. "Anyways, I always thought I'd be talking to him first. About joining." Voldemort observed her for a second and Charlotte could feel the top of her head enflame under his scrutinizing gaze.

"This is rare in such young children," Voldemort finally said, his voice indecipherable. "Most of my younger followers have families grooming them, but I know no Spenas in my forces. Neither do I know any on Dumbledore's side. Who are your parents?"

Charlotte braced herself. This was the part she'd rehearsed the most. "I have none, my Lord," she said. She tried to give off the impression that she'd tried very hard to keep her voice steady.

"You have no living relatives?"

"No, my Lord," Charlotte answered. "None that I know of."

"Where did you get your middle and last names then?"

"My mother, my Lord," Charlotte replied, remembering what she'd rehearsed. "After I was born, she lived for about two days. It was long enough to name me."

"What was her name?"

"Mia, my Lord," Charlotte answered, shortly. Her eyes almost widened as soon as she'd said it. She hadn't planned that one – Dumbledore had just given her mother a name that started with M. Inwardly, she grinned and thanked Dumbledore for his poor skills at wordplay and names. M-names – hurrah!

Voldemort was quiet for a long moment. "And she was a witch?" he finally asked. His hiss had grown a bit quieter.

Charlotte nodded. "I was told that things happened around her. I don't think she had a wand, or she _did_ have one and had to conceal it, but, once, she was fighting with one of the nurses – at the hospital where I was born – and the nurse was walking away, but my mother must have muttered a spell. The lady, a woman from civil services, who told me about it said my mother had said something in Greek, though she thinks it might have been Latin – the woman was muggle, she wouldn't really know – and all of a sudden the nurse fell and started screaming like she'd been scalded." She stopped. "I apologize, my lord, I'm babbling."

"And your father?" Voldemort asked, immediately.

Charlotte forced herself to cringe a little. "I don't know him, my Lord." She thought she heard him move a little.

"Where do you live then? During the summer?"

Charlotte let herself hesitate for exactly 1.7 seconds before dropping her voice a few decibels. "At an orphanage, my lord," she answered. At this point, she felt the Dark Lord's gaze, which had bore through to her skull for the last few minutes, suddenly soften, the tiniest, eensiest, weensiest bit.

"Get up, child," Voldemort suddenly said. His tone was indecipherable.

Charlotte scrambled up rather gracelessly out of the bow. As she rose, her legs throbbed achingly – she hadn't realized how uncomfortable she was because of the fear. As soon as she was up, the Dark Lord spoke again.

Voldemort lazily flicked his wand then and a second armchair appeared behind Charlotte. "Sit down," he said. "We have to talk." He paused before gesturing for Peter, who was still on a knee, to get up. "Get the house elves to bring us some tea and cupcakes."

Peter looked at the Dark Lord in shock before scrambling away to do as he'd ordered. Voldemort then gestured at his other two Death Eaters to leave the room. Charlotte felt their eyes burning into the back of her head as they walked out. As soon as Charlotte and Voldemort were alone, a coffee table with a tea set and cupcakes appeared between them.

Charlotte felt her stomach tighten considerably. But she almost relaxed when Voldemort spoke his next words.

"How do you take your tea?"

Charlotte had to keep herself from staring in awe at him. She quickly decided that there might be something in it. "With a lot of milk and sugar," she replied, trying to sound casual.

Voldemort didn't comment. He just started pouring.

Charlotte took the opportunity to stealthily look at him. His skin was deathly white and he did have slits for his crimson eyes. He did look very much like a snake… But she couldn't help but to think that there was something familiar about him. She didn't know what it was – she'd never even seen pictures in texts. There was something… She almost sighed out loud in frustration. She'd been getting these strange déjà vu feelings a lot in the past.

Charlotte almost jumped when her tea cup appeared, floating in front of her. "Thank you," she mumbled, quietly, taking it out of the air. She decided she wouldn't drink it until he told her to.

After pouring his own cup (black, very strong), Voldemort sat back. "Well, then," he said. Charlotte instantly stiffened. "Care to tell me about any of Potter's friends?"

Charlotte nodded. "I can do that," she said, her tone almost enthusiastic. She started to think of everything that annoyed her about her family and friends. She frowned, trying to get something that'll be useful to the Dark Lord, but not useful enough that he could hurt her mother. "Hermione Granger. Smart, but, stupid enough to lose her wand in a forest and not think of a locator charm. She doesn't think fast though. She gets into a panic very quickly." She paused. "Very much a bleeding heart. I know she's a stickler for rules, but she'll let people slide if they feed her a good sob story." She frowned. "_Irritatingly_ studious… She thinks school comes first before everything. If you wanted to keep her out of your business, I suppose you can get Professor Snape to assign her an impossible amount of homework. That'd keep her busy."

The Dark Lord snorted loudly, a wry smile on his face. Charlotte blinked and he gestured for her to continue.

xXxXxXx

Severus' heart was thudding loudly in his chest, even as he willed himself to calm down. After getting a quick report from his two colleagues, he'd run straight to the room, and he almost thought he could hear Charlotte's voice through it. He frowned and just about ran in when the door opened even before he knocked.

"… Potter liked her or something, but she dumped him. Well, she never dated him, she just turned him down because she liked someone else," Charlotte was saying. She was facing away from the door and hadn't seen her father come in yet. The Dark Lord glanced at him with a small smirk before he turned back to the chattering girl before him. Severus stared in awed horror as Charlotte continued to chat animatedly. "We all have DADA together, so I've seen her boggart, and it was a boy with black hair – maybe it was Potter. I would be afraid of him, too – he described his feelings for her as having a monster in his chest. They ran around calling it the Chest Monster for a while last year." She snorted. "Feelings, right. I know what it really was. It's just like Potter to get his first chest hair and be so proud that he'd give it a nickname. _Chest Monster_."

The Dark Lord actually chuckled. "That's _exactly_ like him, child." He turned and nodded to Severus. "Isn't that just like Potter, Severus?"

Severus inclined his head, visibly deflating as he relaxed. "Yes, my Lord." He noticed Charlotte whip around and her eyes widen in surprise and… Fear. She was more afraid of his entrance than she'd been afraid of the Dark Lord a few moments ago. Severus suddenly scowled – he didn't blame her. He turned back to the Dark Lord. "My Lord, he's looking for this girl," he said.

The Dark Lord nodded at Charlotte. "Ms. Spena?"

Severus jerked his head once. "One would think he'd miss one imbecile amidst the many, but Potter and Lovegood witnessed the capture." To his shock, a small sound of indignity came from Charlotte.

"I'm an imbecile?" Charlotte asked, her eyes widening.

"Of course, you are!" Severus snapped, glowering at her.

"Severus," the Dark Lord suddenly stated. His spy turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm going to ask you to be much more civil to Miss Spena from now on."

Severus stared at him. "My Lord?" he asked. That line had been right of out the Book of Dumbledore (co-authored by Insufferable Werewolf). Charlotte also looked curious.

The Dark Lord nodded. "Miss Spena is not only quite witty – she actually reminded me of you a few times – but she is also quite intelligent and useful."

Severus didn't know what to think. He didn't notice Charlotte mirror his expression from the armchair, but thankfully, neither did the Dark Lord. "Intelligent? Useful?" he echoed. He pointed at Charlotte. "_Her_?"

The Dark Lord nodded, completely serious. "If I'd had a daughter, I would want her to be like Miss Spena here… If I'd had a son, I would marry him to her."

From the couch, Charlotte couldn't help but smile wryly a little at these last lines. Severus, however, was not as impressed. "What should I do with her, my Lord?" he asked, instead.

Voldemort thought for a second. "You do not have the chalice yet?" he asked.

Severus slowly shook his head.

The Dark Lord frowned. "Stay here then." He lifted his wand to his left arm. "I'd like to speak to you and Peter." He nodded at Charlotte. "I'll have my other two spies take Ms. Spena back to the castle." He turned to her as she glanced at him with wide eyes. "I trust you will continue to do so well?" he asked. Charlotte nodded. He waved her away in a silent dismissal.

Charlotte got up and scrambled out of the room, trying hard not to flinch under her father's scalding gaze.

xXxXxXxXx

A/N

Oh no, what'll happen to Severus? He was guilty about Charlotte's capture, but now he has to suffer the consequences of getting her back safely. - - Sigh… - - One step forward, two steps back.

Next Chapter

Charlotte gets back to the castle.

Severus and the Dark Lord… Interact, let's call it…

A very long Severus/Hermione scene… That will NOT be interrupted this time. (So sorry for interrupting them in her room, on the stairway, in the labs, etc. …)

REVIEW!!

Luv

Creatress


	16. One Snape Home, One to Go

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

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Author's Note:

I updated!! And took less time than a month! Weeeeeee!!

Luv

Creatress

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Chapter 15

Charlotte stumbled out of the sitting room and almost stumbled into Peter, who was rushing in. He looked at her wildly for half a second, but didn't pause to ask or say anything to her because he didn't want to keep his lord waiting.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Charlotte stood stock still for a moment wondering what she should do. Was she to wait for her father to come and take her back to the castle?

The thought barely registered before a hand suddenly fell on her shoulder. She started and twisted around, freeing herself of the Death Eater's hand before stumbling back a step. However, one of the two men before her suddenly pressed his index finger to his lips. "Quiet!" he whispered.

Charlotte stared, her eyes wide. Were these the two spies the Dark Lord had talked about? Who were they really working for?

The one who'd spoken leaned forward a bit, so that he was more at her level. "Charlotte," he said, quietly. "I need you to be completely silent and come with us. We're taking you home."

Charlotte's eyes narrowed warily and she inched backward a bit. Though she couldn't help but feel as if she's heard this man's voice, she wasn't about to take any chances. She glanced at the second man behind the one who'd spoken – so far he hadn't said a word.

The man must have sensed her suspicions, and he sighed tiredly. "Please, Charlotte, this is no time to make a fuss," he whispered. "Listen, both of your parents trust me. Your mother's been a good friend for ages, and your father trusts me as well." His tone was begging.

Charlotte didn't know how to reply, but the second man suddenly let out a quiet snort of amusement. She looked to him, her eyes growing a bit wider in surprise and the Death Eater who'd been speaking to her also straightened and turned around.

"You would be a horrible kidnapper - 'Come with me, I'm a friend of your parents,'" the second Death Eater mocked his colleague. He stepped up next to him and looked down on Charlotte with blue eyes that were just as expressionless and knowing as Voldemort's red ones. She had a hard time keeping his gaze – his eyes were familiar, but… Different. "The Dark Lord sent us a word via house elf that we were to escort you back to the castle," he said. The corner of his lips turned up into a wry smirk. "You managed to fool him," he said, quietly. "Anyone who knows him well knows that's quite a feat… Miss Snape."

Charlotte's eyes widened and she relaxed a bit, even though she saw the other spy stiffen. Only those who Dumbledore or her father trusted would know about her identity.

The blue-eyed man nodded once, satisfied, before turning on his heel. "We're leaving _now_," he stated.

The other spy walked a little bit slower (Charlotte had the feeling he was slowing down for her sake, even though she was practically jogging in order to keep up with his fellow spy), but kept a firm grip on her shoulder. As soon as they were outside the house, he let go of Charlotte and rounded on his friend. "You said her name! What if someone had heard?!" Angry as he sounded, he was still quiet; as if he was still afraid someone was listening.

The blue-eyed spy quirked a shoulder and smirked shortly. "I needed to win her trust. Can we just go now?"

Charlotte blinked at the blue-eyed man, but she turned to the man who was still holding onto her shoulder when he let out a sound of exasperation. "You are an idiot," he hissed to the other spy.

Charlotte started and stiffened at this last sentence as a jolt of déjà vu shot through her head. She'd heard someone else say those exact same words before, in that exact same angry, condescending, disbelieving tone. Who had said it? It was girl before; that Charlotte remembered clearly. The first time she'd heard those words, a girl, with a voice much higher than that of the man beside her, had spoken those words to… Not to her? No, not to her. To Tom.

_Daphne_.

Charlotte's eyes widened and she looked up at the man beside her in shock. Before she could say anything, though, there was a crack and the blue-eyed spy disappeared.

Daphne's father let out a small sigh of exasperation and let go of Charlotte's shoulder. "For what it's worth, what you did _was_ brilliant," he said, holding out his hand to her. "Hang on tightly."

Charlotte robotically took his hand, closed her eyes and held tight when she started to feel the effects of apparition. After a few seconds, she felt everything still again. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in her father's wardrobe. Her heart skipped a beat – would she ever be comfortable in here? Daphne's father, who was still holding her hand, got out and started helping her out of the hole in the wall.

The blue-eyed man was waiting for them, leaning lazily against the opposite wall a few meters down the hall. "That was quite close," he muttered, lowly.

'Not close enough,' Charlotte thought. She started stepping through the wall. 'At least the danger's passed.' As soon as this thought was thought, a jet of purple light shot down the hall, past the blue-eyed Death Eater, and passed between Daphne's father and Charlotte before it disappeared down into the darkness.

"Get away from her!" a voice ordered.

"_Lumos_."

Luna and Ginny and ran into the hallway.

Charlotte stared incredulously at them for a second, before Daphne's father shoved her behind him. The other spy had straightened and had his eyes fixed on the two who'd just run in.

"Get away from her!" Ginny repeated. Her wand was pointed straight at Charlotte and the spy she was with. Luna's was the one holding the lumos spell as the blonde looked around, trying to figure out what had happened – she was nervously eyeing the blue-eyed spy, wondering if she should have her wand trained on him.

Charlotte, a tad exasperated now, almost stepped around to explain what had happened, but the spy in front of her spoke first. "Don't," he said. "Put your wands away - "

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Ginny ordered. Before Charlotte could feel touched that Ginny cared so much, the redhead added: "She's _my_ property!" Charlotte managed to briefly wonder when Luna had lost her custody rights before a swarm of angry bats appeared around both the spy _and_ Charlotte.

"Ginny, _no_!" Luna screamed somewhere the in the background.

Bracing herself against the bats, Charlotte shut her eyes and whipped her wand out, not noticing how heavy it was until she'd whipped it out in front of her to try a spell. As soon as she made the movement, the wand collided against the man who was with her and he let out a shout from the impact. "_Tom_!"

Tom Elder finally decided that he'd had enough and lazily flicked his wand at the bats to remove the spell. Luna stiffened, waiting for an attack, but the man barely glanced at her. Ginny looked over her shoulder at the man, stunned that he'd been able to remove her spell, before turning back to face the spy who had her goddaughter behind him.

Charlotte opened her eyes, and quickly realized what she'd wacked Daphne's father with – the candlestick that she'd grabbed at the house. Oh, right. Sheepishly, she let it drop to the floor with a clatter before turning to him. Thankfully, she'd hurt his left arm, not his wand arm, though his lips were pulled back in a grimace. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He didn't seem to have heard. Instead he looked up at glared at the redhead. "Ginny, you _bint_!" He threw off his hood to reveal red hair before he grabbed the skeletal mask off his face. "It's _me_!"

A collective gasp escaped from Ginny and Luna. "_Percy_?!"

Percy's fellow spy, though he was still masked, looked quite amused. Percy himself looked livid. "How did you not guess?! Did you not recognize my voice?!"

Charlotte sheepishly stepped up beside Percy. "Um, for what's it worth, Mr. Weasley, I knew…"

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, incredulously.

"We're _spies_!" Percy stated. Giving them a final glare (and a short nod at Charlotte) he turned to go back into the hole. "I'm going to the hospital wing." Almost as an afterthought, just before he disappeared into the wardrobe, he waved his wand, and Ginny, caught off guard against the invisible spell, was pushed back so she stumbled backward. However, Tom easily caught her before she fell and all Percy had managed to do was cause his sister some embarrassment as she stiffened and jumped about a meter away from her saviour, eyeing him with an unreadable expression on her face.

Tom only smirked at Ginny before making his way to the wardrobe to follow Percy. As he passed, Charlotte, on a whim, gave him a mock bow and a salute to which he responded with a short nod before disappearing into the wall.

Charlotte rounded cheerfully to the older girls, the adrenaline shooting through her making her a bit crazy. "Hey, guess what!"

Ginny turned to her irritably. "What?" she asked.

Luna stepped up to her redheaded friend and looked at her former and future goddaughter (Luna was confident that she would get Charlotte back. If she wouldn't, Charlotte would have pointed out Ginny as her godmother since the very beginning, but she hadn't. Ergo, Ginny would do something to lose her) in concern. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Charlotte grinned, her expression one of relief and disbelief. "Better than okay!" She giggled, insanely for a second. "Guess _what_."

Luna exchanged a look with Ginny. "It must be all the excitement," the blonde murmured. She turned back to Charlotte. "What is it, Charlotte?"

"I'm marrying Voldy's son!"

xXxXx

Hermione was with Harry and Jason, waiting for some sign of either Charlotte's or Severus' return. Harry had decided to take her for a walk to calm her down, but on the way, they'd run into Jason. One thing led to another ('one thing' and 'another' mostly consisted of Harry and Jason staring at each other), and now they were lounging around the empty head girls' room.

Harry and Jason, to Hermione's surprise, were getting along very well. She'd thought Harry would pounce on one of the products on her and Severus' union and throttle him… Especially since Jason looked so much like Severus, too. But it seemed they were both too busy worrying about Charlotte to be awkward around each other.

Hermione turned from the boys who were quietly chatting on her bed to stare out of the window. Whenever Severus came back, he'd probably come through the wardrobe, but Harry was adamant about her not "losing her mind, waiting for a wall to open up" and waiting in the hospital wing would have disrupted the peace there. Scanning the skies was all she had…

Suddenly, there was the vague, barely audible sound of someone shouting. Hermione and the two boys had barely looked up before the door burst open and three girls entered, making a ruckus.

"Charlotte!" Hermione exclaimed, smiling widely in relief. _One Snape home, one more to go…_ She rushed forward to embrace her daughter, but stopped short when she realized that Charlotte's face was twisting in pain. For half a second, she thought she'd been hurt, but then realized that Ginny had Charlotte's ear twisted between her fingers. "What's going on?"

Ginny released her prisoner. "We left her alone for _two_ _hours_ – she went from being your innocent daughter to Tom Riddle's daughter-in-law." As Hermione, Harry and Jason stiffened in shock, the redhead looked sideways at Charlotte for a second before grabbing her goddaughter's ear again. "What did you _do_?!"

Charlotte shrieked, grabbing at Ginny's wrist. "OW! If, if, he said '_if_ he had a son!''' She whimpered a little, and tried again. "I did it to _survive_."

Ginny looked thoughtful for a second but let the girl go. Luna walked past them, looking exasperated and went to stand next to Hermione, who was looking at Charlotte in shock. "Charlotte, what happened over there?"

Charlotte rubbed at her red ear. "Honestly, Mother. It happened by accident. It's not as if I sat there and thought 'Oh, I heard You-Know-Who used to be a looker and maybe it's genetic. Also, Charlotte Semele Riddle _sounds_ good - ' OWWW!"

Ginny let Charlotte's ear go when Hermione gasped out loud. The redhead scowled. "Get to the _point_!" she snapped at the Ravenclaw.

Charlotte only turned to Hermione, sniffling loudly. "But that's it," she complained. "I just thought it was rather impressive, what I did. I mean, I got old Voldie, didn't I?"

"No, you got his _son_. His _non-existent_ son, I might add. That's actually not that impressive at all," Jason suddenly put in. He'd been irritated about missing out on all the excitement. After all, he'd been the one to hold the rat while it was caged, but he missed all the fun parts.

Charlotte, her pride taking over, glowered at her brother and scoffed loudly. "He could be existent."

"Stop!" Everyone started and turned to Hermione, who looked very irritated. She worriedly brushed a curl out of her face before turning to her daughter. "Charlotte, just simple 'yes' or 'no' answers, alright?" When the younger girl nodded dumbly, she continued. "Did You-Know-Who hurt you?"

"No."

Hermione looked at her worriedly. "You're not… You haven't been… _Marked_?"

Charlotte's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought he might do that. "No."

Hermione exhaled in relief. "Did you happen to see your father before you left?"

Charlotte nodded, mutely.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in worry. "Do you know what happened with them?"

Charlotte shook her head, inwardly deflating as she thought of all the times her father had come back very hurt after... After…

Hermione nodded, seemingly calm and understanding. "I'm going to go and wait for him," she stated. There was a certain edge to her tone that said she would not be argued with. Too distracted and worried to say good-bye, she left the room, letting the door swing shut behind her.

xXxXxXx

Severus Snape was in a dangerous mood.

The Potions Master swiftly left the wardrobe to go to his private chambers and the first thing he sought out was the liquor cabinet. The man was practically trembling in his rage.

The meeting with the Dark Lord had not gone well. Between ranting about the chalice and filling him in about his new set of eyes at Hogwarts, Voldemort hadn't any good news for his spy. The situation was steadily inching toward the breaking point – he didn't have the chalice, so he would have to make that up to the Dark Lord some other way. The thought of what he may have to do made his blood boil – murder, maim… Hopefully it would be someone he hated. If he didn't, the Dark Lord would lose faith in him, which would make it harder to fulfill his duties to the Order, which… It seemed that the world had turned on him, and he was itching to let it all _out_ –

"You're back." Hermione stood in the doorway. He had moved so quickly across the hall she thought she might have imagined him. She cautiously stepped in and shut the door behind her as she noticed that he was still in 'uniform.' "Are you alright?"

Across the room, Severus downed his second shot and turned around to face her. The look on his face was unreadable. "Come here."

Hermione stiffened. There was something about him that was bothering her. Nevertheless, her legs started moving – one foot in front of another, again and again, as she slowly made her way across the room and stopped a few feet away from where he was. "What is it?" she asked. Her eyes darted all over him – he _looked_ fine.

"Sit."

Hermione started. "Pardon?" Instead of getting a response, an invisible force hit her and she stumbled before falling back onto the couch. She frowned, furrowing her eyebrows, wondering what was going on. "What happened?" she asked, slowly and evenly, an edge to her voice.

"A drink, Hermione?" Severus turned back to the cabinet.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the back of his head. "No," she said. "Thank you."

"But I insist."

"But I don't drink," Hermione quickly interrupted. That was a lie – she could have something (usually light) when she was out with friends, especially during summer, but there was something about his request that unnerved her. She paused and examined his shoulders and back, realizing that he was tense. He was angry or frustrated or _something_ – he just wasn't in a good mood. She almost excused herself.

Hermione tensed when Severus turned around from the cabinet and started walking toward the couch. He held a glass that was half full of something, and she suddenly found herself staring at the dark gold liquid, wondering if that really was the colour of her eyes. A thought hit her and she frowned. "Do you drink often?"

Severus ignored her as he sat down next to the brunette. "Guess what your little girl did," he said. His voice was too even.

Hermione's heart almost stopped when he sat close enough for his knee to brush hers. "What did she do?"

"She's our new spy," Severus said simply.

"What?!" Hermione yelped.

Severus scowled. "It'll be okay. She won't be joining anything until she's graduated. But she'll be long gone before then."

Hermione relaxed. "Okay… That's fine then," she murmured.

Severus looked sideways at her for a second before wordlessly turning to the glass in his hand.

Hermione looked at him for a second and gulped. Her hand almost trembling, she reached out and gently touched his shoulder. "It'll be over soon."

Severus smirked a little. "What makes you say that?"

"From what Charlotte told me, the war ended sometime in her childhood. It will end."

Severus' smirk faded and his expression once again became unreadable. Hermione almost jumped when he turned a little and took her hand off her shoulder. His touch was actually quite gentle, but it sent electricity jolting up her arm. His started stroking the area above her knuckles. "You actually want it, don't you? The marriage and the family?"

Hermione couldn't help but notice how cold his voice was. "Yes," she responded truthfully.

He pressed in a little harder, making her wince a little. "Why do I get the feeling that if it weren't for such clumsy children travelling through time, you would have done that with anyone."

Hermione's eyes flickered from her hand to his face. "What?" she asked, not liking where this was going.

Severus paused to put his glass down before turning to her. His other hand free now, he used it to gently brush a curl out of her face. "What are you doing down here?" he asked, lightly fingering it to its end.

"Checking to make sure you were okay," Hermione answered. There was a tingle running up and down her spine. He was holding her hand. He was touching her hair.

"Come here." His voice was softer, but there was an aggression in it. Hermione didn't have a chance to react before he had wound an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap, her back against his chest. Surprised and afraid, she instantly started squirming but he tightened his hold on her. "Stop that," he hissed. She froze. He smirked. "Checking to make sure I was okay," he echoed. "That's so caring of you." He moved his free hand to the side of her throat and took some satisfaction in the curving of her spine against his chest. He applied just enough pressure against the top of her throat so that she bent her head back against his shoulder.

Hermione decided she should say something. But his thumb against her throat made her voice quiver. "I thought you would be hurt."

"You thought I would be hurt," Severus said. The woman in his lap gasped a little when his hand slipped from the bottom of her neck to her collarbone. "We can't have that, now, can we?"

Hermione glanced sideways at him, these words making a knot in her stomach. "What?"

"If I were hurt…" Severus hand was tracing her collarbone, slowing pushing her collar aside. "And, god forbid, if I had been hurt enough to die… You wouldn't have your children, now would you? It would have been so much easier if you could have had them with someone else."

Hermione gulped. His touch had turned from fiery hot to icy cold. "Stop," she said. She grabbed his hand away from her neck and scrambled out of his lap before standing. She turned to face him with a glacial stare and something – anger, hurt – flared inside of her when she noticed he was looking at her with a look of satisfaction. "You think I'm only here for Charlotte and Jason?" she asked, her voice quiet, but thick. "Think again." Before he could respond, she continued. "If you have anything to say to me, anything to ask me, do so. Just say it. Just ask. Don't manipulate me."

Hermione then stormed out of the room and once Severus heard the door slam shut, he could help but feel… Empty.

The feeling was all too familiar… But he suddenly found himself thinking that he hadn't felt it in a while.

xXxXx

No time for An. Gotta run.

REVIEW!!

Luv, Creatress


	17. Good Girls Like Bad Boys

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Have fun…

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 17

Good Girls Like Bad Boys…

"_If you have anything to say to me, anything to ask me, do so. Just say it. Just ask. Don't manipulate me."_

Before what he was doing fully settled on him, Severus got off the couch and quickly left the room, not even pausing to close the door behind him.

Hermione wasn't far away down the corridor, and he was in front of her within seconds. Surprised, she started and stepped back. It was obvious from the look on her face that she was still upset. "What is it?" she asked, evenly.

Severus started to say something, but stopped when he realized that he didn't know where to start. "I'm here to just say and ask things. No manipulation."

Hermione looked up at him, coolly. "Really?" she asked.

Severus frowned. "You have always trusted me before, have you not?"

Hermione smiled, a little. "Lately, it's been starting to waver," she said. At Severus' raised eyebrow, she continued. "I trust that you'll fight this war with us. I have faith in you as a spy. But my trust in you as a strong, honourable person? Ever since Charlotte showed up, I'm starting to doubt it."

Severus smirked. "Honourable? I was never honourable. Slytherin, remember?"

Hermione smiled, but it was a disbelieving one that didn't quite meet her eyes. "That's it, Severus. Just make quaint comments like that and fall back on the school house league system," she said, casually. She suddenly patted his arms. "I'll tell you what. When you're ready to grow up and be adult about the situation, come find me." She started walking again when Severus' arm shot out in front of her, blocking the way.

Severus' eyes were smoldering. "I won't have you disrespect me," he said. "Do you or do you not want to talk?"

Hermione nodded, meeting his gaze. "Let's talk then."

"You pride yourself on being a reasonable, logical witch who always follows the rules," Severus said. "Children falling through time – is that normal? Even for our world? This is something that shouldn't happen. But it did. There's no undoing their actions without messing everything up even further." He looked down at her intensely. "But did you stop to think – what if everything had gone smoothly and everyone stayed within their time frames? If they had never come to the past, you would never have known you would marry me or have children. So if you hadn't known of the future, would you still have wanted me?"

Hermione didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Severus looked almost amused. "Explain."

"I didn't before Charlotte got here. I'll admit that. But how do you know it couldn't have happened if they hadn't come here? Maybe I'll develop feelings for you in the future. If they hadn't come, it might have been tomorrow, next year, whenever…" She trailed off and looked up at him. "You can't stand there and say it's impossible. Even before Charlotte got here, I admired you. I cared about you. I worried for you during your meetings and battles." She smirked a little. "What if I was bandaging you up one day after you'd been hurt and I decided that I simply couldn't _bear_ it if you died?"

Severus smirked, as well. He had to glance away for a second. "And you would have expected me to reciprocate… Why?"

Hermione smiled softly. "I think I can be quite persuasive when I want to be."

Severus studied her, curiously and raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan to do, Hermione? Get me drunk? Stupefy me again?"

Hermione, gathering up every ounce of courage within her, inhaled and stepped up to him. "Get you drunk? I wouldn't have to do that." Tilting her head up and leaning close enough to feel his breath against her lips, she pointedly told him, "You manage that fine on your own." Turning away a little, she smiled. "You're afraid I'll stupefy you? I swear I will never do such a thing ever again."

Severus smiled, wryly. "I'm not afraid of your stupefying spell…" He trailed off. "But I'll hold you to that."

Hermione's eyebrows rose. "You can only hold me to that if I'm around," she told him. Looking him in eye, she asked him, "So? Will I be around?"

"Would I be able to keep you away?" Severus immediately asked.

Hermione's lips quirked. "No," she stated.

Severus looked down at her with a frown. "I still feel wary of a family life," he said, matter-of-factly.

Hermione suddenly looked exasperated. "Why?" she asked him.

Severus waved his hand, lightly. "Also," he continued. "Even if I do it, it's a given that I won't be good at it."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "What?" she asked. "Be good at it? At being a father? What are you talking about? Why would you think that?"

Severus let out an irritated sigh, obviously bothered by her questions. He glanced up to the ceiling. "Do they seem healthy to you? Do you think I'm doing a good job as a father in the future?"

Hermione's answer was instant. "No."

Severus looked at her in surprise. He was expecting her to convince him that everything was icing and sprinkles.

Hermione continued. "Severus, between your genes and mine, there is no way on Earth that they can be healthy – they are set to be as unhealthy as possible. So far today, Jason hasn't eaten anything and Charlotte had a bunch of cupcakes and questionable tea for lunch." She paused, frowning thoughtfully, and continued. "Before Charlotte remembered us, she told me about her family. About us." She looked up at him, accusingly. "You are so _harsh_ with them."

Severus' eyebrows rose. "Harsh?" he echoed. "How? What did she tell you?"

Hermione frowned, thinking of everything Charlotte and Jason had told her. Suddenly, she found herself thinking that, save for a few smacks here and there and a lot of yelling, Severus was actually very lenient. Unless they upset him, that is, and it looked like the children were careful not to do that. She sighed in frustration. "Fine. You're actually rather lenient."

Severus looked surprised, then his expression became unreasonable. "She said I was lenient?" he asked, lowly.

Hermione winced a little. "Er, not in so many words." A thought hit her. "What about this morning? You completely lost it with them!" she snapped.

Severus looked down at her, somberly. "See? I told you I couldn't parent."

Hermione deflated a little, looking angry at herself. "No! Listen, that's not the point." She took a deep breath and started again. "Charlotte and Jason love you."

Severus looked unsure. "What are you basing that assumption on?"

"The things they say," Hermione answered, readily. "The way Charlotte used to talk about you to me, when she didn't know she was breaking the rules. She loves you. And Jason – it's like we can make him willingly swallow hot coal if you did it first." She held his gaze. "They love you. They think you're grumpy and yell too much, but they love you."

Severus couldn't help but feel his heart thud louder. The dungeons suddenly felt warmer. He gulped. "That still doesn't mean having a family is a good idea."

"Why?" Hermione sighed, suddenly looking tired and helpless. "I keep telling you that you'll make a good father."

Severus shook his head. "Then tell me this. If I'm such a great father, why couldn't I protect my daughter from whatever her boggart was?"

Hermione felt as if she'd swallowed a stone. "Oh," she sighed.

"Exactly."

Hermione looked up, her eyes wide. "But that was just as much my fault. It was even more my fault than yours. We were playing Hide and Seek and…" She trailed off, gulping. "You were hurt at the time."

Severus frowned. "Why can't I know what it is?"

Hermione winced before answering. "I still think it's her secret to share." She bit her lower lip for a second. "She probably will tell you. Not now, though – now, after that tirade you went on this morning, she probably isn't comfortable. In the future, I'm sure she'll tell you as soon as she gets back."

"Hm," Severus muttered, staring at the wall beside them. He turned to Hermione when he felt her touch his arm and saw that she was smiling.

"If you absolutely must know everything and nothing less, we'll just give her a new boggart."

Severus had to chuckle at her plan. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Hermione laughed a little. "After today, I honestly don't know." She smiled, softly, and met his gaze. "So will you give us a chance?"

Severus frowned for a second. "There's still a lot to think about…"

Hermione, growing annoyed, leant up to him again. "Remember when I bound you in the Headmaster's staircase?" she asked.

Severus scowled, a little.

Hermione smiled. "Did you plan on taking your revenge?" She pressed her lips against his. "Or are you just going to stand there and _think_ about it?"

xXxXxXxXxXx

"You compared Hermione to his dead mother?!"

Charlotte nodded in answer to Harry's question and grinned at the dumbfounded expressions around her. After Hermione had left to wait for her father, they'd settled around her bed so that she could properly tell them what had happened.

"How did he _react_?" Harry asked, incredulously.

Charlotte had to rock back and forth and think about this for a second, but she suddenly noticed Ginny reaching for her and winced, waiting for another pinching.

Ginny smirked at the other girl's fear, before gently brushing a strand of hair out of Charlotte's face. "You basically told him his life's story," she laughed. "Clever." She gave Harry and Luna a triumphant look. "I told you he's easy to manipulate."

Harry frowned at them. "Yes, you two are a couple in a million," he muttered. He turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte, even I wouldn't have played with his feelings for his mother."

Charlotte giggled a little – she'd been giggling a lot. The people around her decided that she hadn't come down from the adrenaline that was making her hyper. "I almost feel sorry for him. You make him out to seem like such a Mama's Boy." She turned to her brother. "You and the Dark Lord could get together and start a club."

Jason scowled and picked up one of Hermione's pillows to throw at her, but he was stopped when Harry suddenly plucked it out of his hand. The Slytherin turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow and saw that the Boy Wonder was staring at the pillow in his hand, wondering at the knee-jerk reaction. "Don't," Harry said, placing the pillow between him and Luna where neither of the Snapes could reach it. He frowned. "Do you two hit each other often in the future?"

Charlotte frowned. "Yes, and _you_ often stop us. Like that." Her statement was met with silence as everyone thought about this for a second.

"Wow," Luna murmured, smiling mysteriously. "I guess blood truly is thicker than water then." She touched Harry's arm. "Harry acts like a responsible adult whenever Hermione's children are concerned."

Jason let out a snort of laughter. "Responsible? Him?" He pointed at Harry. "I was about three years old when he strapped me down to a broom and pushed it off the roof." He paused when everybody except Charlotte looked at him wide-eyed before turning to Harry in horror. "It was partly my fault – I kept bugging him to teach me how to fly. But, still…"

"I pushed you off a _roof_?!" Harry asked. His jaw dropped open and he experienced a wide variety of emotions – ranging from guilty amusement to absolute terror – before he finally settled on feeling stunned.

Charlotte leaned forward. "No, no, he _was_ responsible. I mean, he put a helmet on Jason and everything." She paused. "It's alright. You're Fun Uncle Harry, not Responsible Uncle Harry."

Ginny slowly started to smile. "What did Hermione say?"

Jason and Charlotte exchanged glances. "Our parents don't know," Charlotte finally said. She turned to Harry. "You were babysitting."

Luna looked at Jason in concern. "Did anything happen? Were you hurt?"

"No, I was wearing a helmet."

Harry let out a sigh of relief. "It's amazing how I always manage to dodge the bullet."

"Almost as amazing as how Charlotte dodges them," Jason muttered. He turned to his sister. "So you give him that crap about being an orphan, and then what?"

Charlotte giggled again. "Nothing. He sat me down, fed me some tea and I told him how cool the snake look was - "

"_WHAT_?!"

Charlotte smirked at the reaction of the group. "That was actually the most truthful lie I told him," she laughed.

"Oh, dear Merlin, Charlotte…" Luna muttered.

"And then Father came to pick me up," Charlotte finished, blandly. "That was that."

"That's it?" Ginny asked, blinking. "Then why did you tell us that you were marrying Tommy Jr.?"

Charlotte laughed lightly. "Father came in and started scolding me, when – get this – the Big Bad Dark Lord actually called him off." Giggling at the looks she received, she continued. "He said that if he had a daughter, he would want her to be like me and if he had a son, he would marry him to me." She grinned. "I actually thought it was sweet of him. OW!" Charlotte leant away from Ginny and tenderly held her ear. "Why do you keep doing that?!"

Ginny stared pensively at her hand for a second. "I don't know," she muttered. She looked up and smiled, wryly. "Anyways, as one of the reviewers pointed out, how awesome would it be if you returned to the future only to find Tom Riddle Jr. waiting for you?"

Charlotte gave her a blank look, but Jason snickered. "No, how awesome would it be if Tom Riddle Jr. and Charlotte's boyfriend, Tom Elder Jr. got into a fight over her?"

Harry suddenly sat up. "Woah!" He turned to Charlotte with a frown. "Who's Tom Elder Jr.?"

Charlotte groaned, looking wary. "And here's Overprotective Uncle Harry."

"You've never liked him," Jason said to Harry, trying to be helpful. "Charlotte's boyfriend."

"What house is he in?" Harry frowned.

Charlotte looked nervous. "He's a prefect."

"What _house_, Charlotte?"

"He's a Seeker."

"_House_."

"And he's guaranteed Head Boy next year…"

"Charlotte," Harry stated, glaring at her. "What. Colour. Is. The. Boy's. _Tie_?"

Charlotte looked up at him, beseechingly. "The colour of your beautiful and nonjudgmental eyes?"

"He's Slytherin?" Harry groaned, disbelievingly.

"I'm Slytherin," Jason put in, sounding a tad sulky.

Harry shot his nephew a short glare. "And it tears me up inside, Jason." He turned back to Charlotte. "How could you like a Slytherin?"

Charlotte pouted. "But he's also a prefect and - "

"Yeah, well, so was Voldemort," Harry interrupted.

"Voldemort's name was Tom, too," Luna added, casually.

Charlotte let out a sound of exasperation. "Tom's _dad's_ name was Tom, too. Besides, Tom doesn't have a cool snake look." She paused and grinned, day dreamingly. "He looks like a _regular_ handsome demigod." Harry and Jason exchanged disgusted looks.

"What does your father think of him?" Ginny asked, grinning widely.

Charlotte laughed. "Are you kidding? My father doesn't know. I wouldn't tell - " She stopped short and her eyes widened. "Oh, my God, I told my father about Tom!"

Jason smiled, sadistically, all of a sudden looking more like his father than he ever had before. "When?"

Charlotte scrambled off the bed. "Back when my memory was screwed up and I remembered everything!" she blabbered. She caught the confused looks everyone gave her and frowned, impatiently. "You know – that flashback chapter! I told my parents – and Dumbledore, too! – about Tom asking me out! I have to go fix this!" Before anyone could react, she'd shot out of the room.

The group on Hermione's bed stared after her for a second.

Harry looked at the door unsurely. "You think there might have been something in Voldemort's tea after all?"

xXxXxXx

Charlotte shot down to the dungeons, but when she got to the lab door, she realized that she didn't have a plan. She finally decided on bursting in on her parents with a quick and painless obliviate… This would have been a great idea if her dear future father-in-law had thought to tell his pet rat to give her her wand back. She almost giggled – that was a strange sentence.

Suddenly she heard voices coming from the corridor with the wardrobe. Was her father back already? Stealthily, she peeked into it, and saw that yes, he was back. He and her mother were on one side of the hallway, talking. Her father was facing her direction – she wouldn't be able to surprise them like this.

Sighing, she looked at the time on Jason's watch. It was almost 7:00 Am. He'd have to come check up on the potion soon… How could she do this? What had she done?

Charlotte was so busy inwardly sulking about her father killing her boyfriend that she didn't even hear her parents make their way down the corridor. An odd noise – something like a gasp and growl – snapped her out of her thoughts. Frowning curiously, she innocently glanced into the corridor to see what it was – and recoiled in shock.

_Why did she keep catching her parents snogging?!_

The corridor leading out of the area she was in was too long – they'd catch her. And she didn't want to face them like this.

So Charlotte has a habit of picking bad hiding place, and generally doing idiotic things when in flight mode. Seeing the only door that was open a crack, she shot into the room, almost slamming the door behind her. She felt about half a second's moment of triumph before she realized where she was – her father's bedroom.

Panic and trauma hit Charlotte like a ton of bricks – she can hear them outside the door now.

Just as the door started to open, Charlotte instinctively dove under the bed. Watching her parents feet enter the room and the bottom of the door swing shut, she held her breath and wished they'd stop kissing soon.

Charlotte never did have good luck…

xXxXxXxXx

A/n

Severus and Hermione are making out and Charlotte's stuck under the bed… Oh, dear dark lord, this can _not_ end well…

REVIEW!

Luv

Creatress


	18. Putting the FUN in Dysfunctional

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Sorry for my tardiness. (big, puppy dog eyes) You forgive me, don't you??

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 18

Putting the FUN in Dysfunctional

Charlotte clamped her hands over her ears, screwed her eyes shut and curled into a fetal position on her side, gently rocking back and forth a little. 'This is not happening…'

"You damnable Gryffindor…"

Charlotte pressed her hands tighter against her ears, but couldn't block out her father's voice or her mother's subsequent laughter.

xXx

"You damnable Gryffindor…" Severus managed to growl when Hermione paused to inhale. He tried setting her away a little, at arms length, so that he might get some kind of control over the situation. He had been surprised when she kissed him in the hall –wasn't she worried about anyone _seeing_? He was even more surprised when she kept going, and was surprised further by the woman's strength. He couldn't fight her off long enough to tell her that this may be a tad risky, so he'd just steered her to his room, hoping that he could scare her back to sanity. After he growled out the curse, he tried to scowl menacingly at her, but Hermione just laughed a little in amusement.

Severus' voice was even and he narrowed his eyes. "I come to you drunk in the middle of the night and you're a trembling virgin… What's happened to you now?"

"I'm not a trembling virgin… Gryffindors never tremble."

"Oh? We'll see…" Severus took his wand out, almost wanting to hex the haughtiness out of the Gryffindor. Hermione tried to hold her silent amusement at the action, but couldn't help but let out a small squeal.

xXx

There was suddenly a feminine squeal. Charlotte crinkled herself up some more. What in the name of all that was good and _not dirty_…?!

Her father's voice sounded again, this time, it was a tad impatient. "Hermione. Get a hold of yourself. In all seriousness, what has changed?"

Her mother didn't respond for a second. "I'm calmer and happier now because… You feel better now."

Charlotte's curiosity perked and she opened her eyes to look out from the bottom of the foot of the bed. Her father's black shoes, half hidden under black robes, were a few feet in front of the bed. Her mother's ankles were crossed right in front of it – obviously Hermione was sitting on the edge. What? Charlotte thought. 'Better' now? Her father voiced his daughter's thoughts.

"Better now?" he questioned.

"About everything," Hermione answered, readily.

Charlotte watched her father's feet walk up to the bed and she quietly inched away from them as he sat down next to her mother.

"You should be amazed I'm a tad more inclined toward those hellions."

Charlotte frowned. Hellions? She loosened up a little, growing interested.

Hermione giggled. "Hellions?"

"Hellions," Severus confirmed.

"You do realize they get it from you, right?"

Charlotte saw and heard the bed creak a little as her father leaned toward her mother. She prepared to shrivel up again when her father continued.

"Do you know what happened over there?"

"No," Hermione answered.

Severus snorted, softly. "And I don't want to know." He paused a second and when he spoke, his voice was strangely somber and tired. "I may never relax again. On the other hand, everything else seems so… unproblematic. Now that she's back."

"Everything else seems so unproblematic now that she's back?" Hermione asked. Charlotte could hear the smile in her voice. "Did you just openly admit you were worried about her?"

xXx

Hermione couldn't help but smile up at him. "Did you just openly admit you were worried about her?"

"Hardly," came Severus' hard, even response, as he turned away from her.

Hermione bit her lip in thought for half a second, before she decided what to do. She had to get up on her knees on the bed to be able to reach him. "Come here," she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck. Severus stiffened, but, surprisingly, didn't pull away. After holding her forehead against his shoulder for a moment, Hermione noticed what he was wearing and pulled away a little. A little hesitantly, she ran his fingers over the front of the Death Eater robes.

Severus could guess her thoughts. "It makes you… Nervous?"

Hermione sighed, quietly. "Just a little," she lied.

Severus apparently didn't like them, either. He easily slid them off and dropped the dark garments to the floor, leaving him in a dark shirt and pants.

xXx

There was a rather pregnant pause before Hermione spoke again, her voice soft. "Come here," she said.

As the bed creaked again, and Charlotte grew scared. But then Hermione's feet disappeared from the foot of the bed and Charlotte's jaw dropped in horror – her mother was _not_ lying down on the bed. Her parents were _not_… When she saw her father's robes suddenly appeared on the floor, she gave up on denial and simply balled herself up again and started praying.

'This is not happening. I am still with the Dark Lord, in that dark sitting room and we are making fun of Uncle Harry and my parents are not in the same room snogging.' Wow… Who would have guessed that being in the same room as her parents would have been more damaging than private tea with Voldemort? 'Oh, my Lord, save me, oh my Lord, oh, my Lord, oh my Dark Lord, save me!' There was suddenly a loud, sharp knock at the door and Charlotte faintly heard it through her hands and prayers. She gingerly removed her hands a little.

"Who is that?" Her mother's voice asked, quietly.

"Who is it?" Severus called, loudly. He made no move to hide the irritation he was feeling.

"It's Tom Elder."

Under the bed, Charlotte stiffened. Tom was here…? "Scat!" Severus snapped at the door. Just then, Charlotte realized it must be her boyfriend's father who'd saved her virgin ears. But what was he doing here?

"Dumbledore's coming, too. We need a word," Tom's voice came. Because it was travelling through the thick wooden door, under the bed and through her hands, the voice was really muffled to Charlotte's ears. She removed her hands when her mother's feet suddenly appeared at the side of the bed.

"I can't be in here," Hermione hissed.

Severus' voice was wry. "Albus was actually rooting for us this entire time. Merlin, he was insane. I mean, more so than usual."

"But I can't be alone in your room right now. It's late evening – what'll he think?!" Hermione's voice was growing shrill. Charlotte winced at her choice of words, especially when her father's feet appeared at the foot of the bed again.

Tom knocked again. "_Now_, Severus – it's important." Before Severus could reply, Tom voice – now casual – carried through the door again. "Hello, Professor McGonagall, will you be joining us?"

Charlotte somehow heard her mother scream silently. "Oh, my _God_!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Hide!" Severus hissed.

Tom had never been a patient man. "Severus, what the hell are you doing in there?!" he demanded. His knocking caused Hermione to panic, and Charlotte watched her mother's feet run this way and that, trying to do something.

Hermione's feet suddenly stopped, and, at the other side, Charlotte noticed her father's feet quickly carry him to the door. "Under the bed!" Severus suddenly hissed.

'You have _got_ to be kidding me.' Life was incredibly, amazingly unfair. Charlotte still had the deadpanned expression on her face when Hermione slid under the bed. "Hello, Mother. Fancy seeing you here."

Hermione's eyes widened and she let out a yelp of surprise, before actually sliding back out again. Charlotte decided that her father was right – her mother had zero tact.

xXxXxXx

Hermione scrambled up, mind reeling.

"Well, well. Isn't this as precious as flowers in spring?"

Hermione's blood ran cold when she heard the low, sarcastic tone and she turned around toward the doorway. Severus was staring at her with a curious, dumbfounded expression and his visitor – his lone visitor – was looking at her with a wry smile and an amused gleam in his icy blue eyes. She quickly took in the stranger's robes and the silvery mask he had in one hand before turning to Severus again. "I… Er… It was dusty under there."

Under the bed, Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Her mother just outright lied to her father for her. Her lips quirked a little – if only they didn't have such a united front at home.

The man continued. "Time travelling children you don't care for, and a wife you can't stand, but you'll spend an evening with one of your students. Model Slytherin, you are."

Charlotte stiffened. 'Time-travelling children you don't care for…?'

Hermione stiffened as well, her temper flaring. "A wife you can't stand?" she echoed, raising her eyebrows at Severus.

"He told me all about her when we were drinking the other night," Tom continued, leaning casually against the doorframe. He ignored the warning look Severus shot him and smirked at the insulted expression on Hermione's face.

Severus tiredly massaged his temple as he turned to Hermione. "Hermione, this is Tom Elder."

Hermione straightened, recognizing the name. "Tom Elder?" she asked.

"Tom Maverick Elder," Tom nodded, by way of an introduction.

"Oh, our daughter likes a… Tom Arthur Elder," Hermione mused.

"Presumably his son," Severus told her, wryly.

Charlotte's eyes widened. Her parents did _not_ just tell her boyfriend's father that she liked his son. She pressed her flaming face to the carpet. Her parents had to be the worst ones to ever exist… She almost wished they were making out again. Almost.

Tom let out a soft snort. "I'm not having a son. And even if I did, I wouldn't name him after me."

Charlotte rolled her eyes, now growing annoyed by everyone's disinclination to have children. What was _wrong_ with everybody in the past?

Tom continued, looking at Hermione. "So _you're_ Hermione. The wife he can't stand. Have I mentioned, Severus has told me all about you?" He paused. "I don't think your teeth are big, at all."

Now Tom had hit a nerve. Hermione's jaw dropped, as she turned incredulously to Severus, a flare of hurt starting up in her chest. She'd always been sensitive about her teeth; she had been her whole life. Especially in front of Severus, who'd used it to cruelly bully her in the past. Severus, for once in his life, could find nothing to say. Shaking her head, Hermione stormed past them.

When she was in the corridor, she suddenly remembered her daughter under the bed, but she didn't stop because of the tears that burned at the back of her eyes. Besides, if Charlotte had enough of her father's craftiness to win Voldemort over, she can use it to get out from under the bed undetected. Her thoughts were too consumed over what she just found out, so she didn't have the time to be upset with her daughter for… Breaking into her father's room, listening in on their conversation, being there when they'd kissed, etc., etc…

Hermione quickly made her way down the corridor, increasing her pace, on the off chance that Severus came after her. Why was it always so difficult with him? One minute, everything is shattered to pieces, and as soon as they manage to get some sanity into the situation, disaster strikes yet again in less than another minute. She could _not_ believe that he'd been trashing her to one of his Death Eater friends. Insulting her, behind her back, to someone who'd – presently or once – belonged to a group of genocidal maniacs who looked down on her was… Sickeningly hurtful.

Gryffindors valued loyalty, that was a given. But as someone who had a hard time growing up, subjected to bullying and all, Hermione had a difficult time forgiving betrayal.

xXxXxXxXx

"What the hell was all that about?!" Severus demanded. He stopped and glanced around the corridor outside. "Minerva was never here, was she?"

Tom gave him an exasperated look. "I saw you two stumble in here," he said. Under the bed, Charlotte's eyes widened – had he seen her, too? "Dumbledore _wanted_ to see you." He glanced around the room, taking a step in. "I thought you would move faster if you thought McGonagall was out there." He paused, thoughtfully. "Never thought that old crow could invoke more fear than I could…"

"Elder…" Severus snarled.

Tom turned to Severus with an even look. "I'm not going to ask what you two were doing in here, but I'll go ahead and assume the worst. You'll thank me for interrupting." He held up a hand, silencing the other man before he could speak. "I won't tell you why. Now, instead of standing there fuming, go after your wife if you have time, and then get up to Dumbledore's office. He's meeting us at 9:00 PM sharp, to discuss the developments of today."

Severus stopped short. "What developments?" he asked, slowly.

"Your daughter," Tom stated. He nodded toward the door.

Severus swallowed. He'd been foolish to think to that her afternoon tea this morning would have no consequences. Blood rushing to his head, he turned and left for Dumbledore's office. Things never stayed calm for long, did they? Two minutes ago, he and Hermione seemed to making the tiniest bit of progress. He hardened himself – he'd told her that having a family was a bad idea. _This_ is why. There were too many people who could use her or Jason against him, the same way Voldemort could use Charlotte.

Tom watched Severus turn a corner before turning back to the room with an indecipherable look on his face.

Charlotte rigidly watched Tom's feet take four purposeful strides to the side of the bed. Her eyes widened as his robes moved. A second later, his face appeared, his eyes narrowed.

"Hey," Charlotte said, blushing furiously.

Tom shook his head for a second before reached under and grabbing her ear. "Charlotte Semele Snape," he muttered, dragging her out.

Charlotte cried out a little, her ear stinging. At least he hadn't taken the one Ginny had already damaged. Once she was out from under the bed, he pretty much yanked her up before leading her out of the room. Charlotte's head spun when she got up and she wobbled a little as she followed him.

"I cannot believe you," Tom muttered. "Why would you run into your parents' room to watch them snog? I don't even know why I came after you…"

"Owowowowowow – I wasn't," Charlotte was stuttering, as she stumbled along behind him. She suddenly noticed what he was wearing and gasped a little, remembering the cold blue eyes of the Death Eater she'd spoken to earlier. "You were one of the Death Eaters who brought me back. You're a spy, too!"

"What's going on here?"

Charlotte groaned a little when she saw her godmother. Tom didn't let go of her ear. "Would you know what to do with this?" he asked, shaking Charlotte's ear a little and making the girl let out an "Ow!"

Ginny stared stoically at Tom. "Yes, actually, I would know what to do with that."

Charlotte was too scared to be indignant about the way they were talking about her. Instead, she opted to watch them with wide eyes. There was a moment of tense silence, and the younger girl felt uncomfortable after a few seconds. "Umm… You two know each other, right?"

"No," they both responded, effectively shutting the brunette up.

Tom then let Charlotte go and gently shoved her toward Ginny, who grabbed her forearm. "Ladies," he said, with a slight nod. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and quickly strode out of the hallway.

"What the hell happened?!" Ginny demanded, dragging Charlotte in the other way. "I looked all over for you – have you seen your mother anywhere?"

Charlotte kept glancing back in the direction Tom had disappeared in. "Don't you know him?" she asked, starting to feel woozy with pain and embarrassment.

Ginny glanced at her with a sharp look, but kept on walking. "You haven't eaten lunch and you just missed dinner," she continued.

Charlotte frowned, staring at the back of Ginny's head. Had her hair always been so… blurry? It was like looking into the centre of a fire with squinted eyes. "I haven't?" she asked, faintly.

"No, you must be exhausted," Ginny muttered, absent-mindedly. "All you had was that tea…"

Charlotte vaguely thought that Ginny's grip on her arm was starting to hurt. But she glanced back again. "That was my boyfriend's father, you know."

Ginny almost slowed down a little. "He looks like someone I used to know," she mused.

Charlotte shook her head, and instantly wished she hadn't when her vision spun for a moment. "No, no, he looks like my boyfriend," she said. She yawned a little. "It was so embarrassing, I…" She trailed off when Ginny turned to look at her.

Ginny frowned. "Charlotte?" she asked, stepping up to the younger girl. As Charlotte's head started to droop, Ginny caught her chin in her palm. "Charlotte! Are you - ?" She stopped when Charlotte's eyes suddenly widened.

Charlotte's voice trembled. "In my time, you all knew me," she gasped, realization striking her. "From when I was born, and when I grew up, you, my parents – _everyone_ had already known me, because I'd already been back here in the past. And you all knew everything about me."

Ginny slowly nodded. "That makes sense," she murmured.

Charlotte's eyes widened some more, and a look of horror crossed her face. "I'm sure Tom's really close with his father – he has his ring that he's really protective of, and they're really, really… Close." She trailed off.

Ginny frowned in confusion. "So?" she asked. She took a closer look at the other girl – Charlotte looked paler than usual.

Charlotte glanced back again. "Tom's father always knew I liked Tom – because he _just_ found out. My parents _just_ told him." Her mind reeled and her head spun.

Ginny had to think for a few seconds about what was so important about this before she finally understood. "Oh…" she muttered. "Tom's father told Tom that you liked him, didn't he?" Ginny found this strangely amusing. "How embarrassing for you."

"My head hurts," Charlotte mumbled, reaching up to cradle her temples. "I just feel so tired…"

Ginny frowned, starting to worry. "Charlotte?" she asked. "Maybe we should get you something to eat." Before Ginny could act on it, however, Charlotte's eyes fell shut and she collapsed. "Okay, there was something in that tea."

xXxXxXxXx

Severus had not gone after Hermione. He didn't feel like apologizing, and he wasn't even sure if he even owed her one. The previous night of drinking with Elder seemed so long ago, like it was from a different time. So he'd almost changed his mind a short half an hour ago – why apologize now? It would be like a butterfly apologizing for once being a caterpillar. The Potions Master almost laughed wryly; he was glad that no one could read his mind. How could he get away with comparing himself to a butterfly?

Severus was sitting in one of Albus' armchairs, trying to look uncaring and impassive. Percy was seated in the next chair, but save for nods of acknowledgement, they hadn't talked. The redhead had told Albus what had happened during Charlotte's 'interview,' and the headmaster had just filled Severus in. Severus might have found Charlotte's plan clever and funny, but she'd caused a burning uneasiness with her orphan act that he was finding very hard to get rid of.

The door suddenly slammed open, and Percy whipped around, relaxing when he saw that it was his fellow spy. Albus was frowning. "You know, Tom, most people knock."

Tom gave the older man the kind of smile one gives to small children before taking a step inside and shutting the door behind him.

Albus rubbed his forehead. "Best case scenario, he won't call her. The potion will be done and she'll be gone before he even thinks of using her. Then, we'll just have to think of something to tell him. She's gone missing or something – I doubt he'd come looking for her." He turned to Severus. "How long will the potion take?"

Severus frowned. "The method was delivered to me just last night," he muttered. "It would take fourteen days still."

Albus nodded. "But a lot can happen in two weeks. Just look at what's happened today…" He shook his head. "Will he call her, Tom?"

Tom had wandered to the window and was staring out. "He doesn't know what to do with her," he said, flatly. "He's thinking of plans, though. He thinks she might be able to lead them to a trap, but he doesn't know when and where to place it."

"If she _was_ forced to pay a call…" Albus said, glancing cautiously at the Potions Master. "Would he mark her?"

Tom smirked. "No. A barely sixteen-year-old, running around with the Mark?" he asked. "It's too risky."

Albus sighed. "This puts everyone in danger. If he wants her to perform a task, we'll have to twist it to keep Charlotte out of trouble, as well as keeping her peers safe. You three will have your hands full, especially if he demands to see her for something – it would be easier for him to figure you out. It's miraculous you three have kept this charade going this far." Tom let out a soft noise that sounded like a bark of laughter. Albus glanced tiredly at him. "We can't just sit around and hope for the best. We need to be prepared in the event of an emergency. Well, gentlemen; what do we do?"

"If she hasn't been marked…" Percy suddenly mused. "Then he can't reach her directly. Surely, he'll have to go through Professor Snape, since he's the only one who lives here. What if she just can't be found?"

"He'll punish Snape for not finding her," Tom answered, smoothly. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at the Potions Master. "Unless you're okay with taking a Crucio for the team? That would make life easier."

Before Severus could reply, Albus cut in. "No," he stated, shooting Tom a warning glare.

Severus gently cleared his throat, and effectively caught the attention of everyone in the room. "If I should so choose, it would take a few hours to brew a draught that would solve this." He took a deep breath. "It's Harry Potter and his circle that we must protect. Not Charlotte. Within a few hours, I can erase her and her brother from the passages of time." His voice was painfully casual.

"You can't keep avoiding Hermione," Albus said, sounding exasperated. "Severus, please. We've had this discussion before. Things change. You'll change. Give it time."

"This isn't about Hermione," Severus answered. "And whether or not fate pushes us together. It's the children." He looked up and swept a black gaze over the other three men. "A permanent impotence potion and they'll never be born. Ergo, we'll never have this mess."

"_No_."

Severus raised an eyebrow at Albus. "Why not?"

"Just, no. Stop trying to kill your children," Albus said, slowly. "Stop looking for _excuses_."

"That's hardly an answer," Severus said, evenly.

"It would devastate Hermione," Percy suddenly said.

"I'll tell you why else," Tom spoke up. "Hurting her would be hurting Potter. And he always must play the hero – or the world will stop spinning, you see – so he'll come after you. Ten galleons say Percy's brother will join in. Either way, the two of you will have a mutiny at this school and that's just the kind of weakness Voldemort's looking for."

"If they never exist, they would never have come back in time," Severus responded, dully.

"Why are you doing this, Severus?" Albus looked ready cry out in frustration. "We've had this conversation millions of times before. Give it a chance, _please_, and you'll grow to love them. All of them. You'll change your mind."

"I won't change," Severus answered, his tone even. "There are some things out there that just won't change."

Albus glanced at Tom. "I might have thought so, too. But anything and _anybody_ can change."

Tom smirked wryly, his emotionless eyes darkening. "You're actually an easy case, Severus…"

xXxXxXxXx

The meeting had not been progressive. They'd no idea what to do. When Severus came back to his private room, he found the door open. He frowned, nearing it, and opened it further.

Hermione was waiting for him. She would have made a pretty picture then – the fire as a background against her chocolate brown curls. She was sitting on an armchair in front of the fireplace, a book open in her lap. She looked up, seemingly unsurprised to see him, before closing it. Severus suddenly saw that it was the book Charlotte had – the one with the spider.

Severus stepped inside and shut the door. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione nodded toward the loveseat couch across front of her. "Sit," she said.

Severus almost argued, but found that he was too tired. Grudgingly, he went and did as he was told, even though _she_ was already sitting in _his_ favourite chair. "I wouldn't have expected you to come back," he remarked. He paused. "I won't apologize," he added.

Hermione actually smiled. "I left here, stalked around, wanting to cry and hit things." She stopped to sigh. "But then I remembered something I learned from muggle summer school. About petty bullying in general. A person will put down someone else to make himself feel better about himself, or make himself feel better about a situation he's in that he has absolutely no control over."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "No, it's nothing like that," he told her. "I'm just a sadist."

Hermione continued, ignoring him. "And it's no secret that you don't feel good about this situation that we're in. So, I decided to come back."

Severus frowned. "Come back and…?" he prodded.

"And continue our conversation from earlier," Hermione finished. "You told me that everything seems so easy after she came home. I know you weren't lying. So, I know you feel something for them." She paused. "Having children in the middle of a war is a stupid, thoughtless idea."

Severus looked at her in surprise. "You're… Agreeing with me?"

Hermione shook her head, smiling slightly. "Neither of us would have done it. And you know that."

Severus nodded. "You wouldn't want to have children during a war."

"So it was natural for you to figure out that she must have been born during a time of peace… So you can't blame the war, Severus. There's no reason to." Hermione didn't think about the fact that they probably _were_ born during war-time.

Severus almost looked away to curse. Hermione – ever reasonable. Ever _logical_. His one, sure-fire reason for not having children was blown straight out of the argument. How could his children be used against him during a peaceful period?

"So, what's your reason for being so… Disinclined? Toward the three of us?"

Severus voiced the first reason that came to mind. "I spend all day with these dunderheads. Why would I want two at home, too?"

Hermione's lips quirked. "Once again, Severus – peace time. No need to spy, ergo, no need to teach. From what Charlotte's told me, you've quit your job here a long time ago."

Severus suddenly looked at her in surprise. "I've quit?" he asked. There was a wonderment lining his tone. Sure, he always told himself that he'd quit when the war ended, but the possibility had never seemed so real. Somewhere along the line, he realized, he'd decided that the war would go on forever. He voiced the obvious question. "What am I doing then?"

Hermione gave him an exasperated look. "I doubt I can tell you that." She paused, savouring the annoyed look on Severus' face before she crumbled. "But you yourself know, from Charlotte's memory, that the house has a very big home lab for you to play in."

Severus smirked, feeling pleased despite himself. It took him a second to remember what they were talking about.

"Have anything else for me?"

Severus turned away from her to stare into the fire. He sighed when no other reasonable response came to mind. "I cannot be a father," he breathed. "I can't."

"Sometimes, you can surprise yourself," Hermione said, casually.

Severus didn't reply. He just stared into the fire, trying to search for a reason to give the young woman before him.

Hermione looked at him for a second. Obviously, he was struggling to dislike the whole thing… But he was failing. And that comforted her. She held the book tighter and curled up on the armchair, gently taking her boots off before tucking her legs beneath her. "Whenever you're ready," she said, opening the novel again. Before she started reading, she glanced up at him. His form was tense and he was frowning slightly into the fire. What was he so afraid of? Whatever it was, she suddenly wanted to cross the hearth, sit down next to him and just hold him. Hug him into accepting his bright, happy future. Why would he fight the notion of a family life?

Hermione turned back to the book. She was at the part where Wilbur attempts to escape from the farm. The pig was scrambling here and there, all the other animals were creating a disturbance, and the farmers were running around in confusion. She almost wanted to smile – no matter how dire the situation, this part could always cheer her up, at least a little. She recalled reading the beginning to Charlotte in the hospital wing and suddenly found herself wondering how often she'd read it to Charlotte in the future. But Hermione didn't stray long on this daydream – her thoughts started to wonder. She started to remember bits and pieces of the conversation she'd had with her daughter before digging through the girl's backpack to find this book. Charlotte had told her something that answered why Severus was so edgy about a family life…

Hermione's eyes widened in realization and she straightened in her chair, looking up at Severus with a mixture of sorrow and helplessness on her face. She could hear Charlotte's voice in her head: _"His father beat him when he was a kid. I mean, not a few smacks here and there, I mean, really beat him to hell and back…"_

Hermione looked down helplessly at the book in her hands. Severus said that he couldn't be a father… This was probably why. What was she supposed to do now? She could win any argument they could have over this topic with logic. She could heal any physical injury he might have with knowledge. But what could she do about this? She wasn't even sure how one thing could relate to another – she didn't recall, from any class or reading, that an abused person would be disinclined to have a family of his or her own. But Severus was… Severus was not like anyone else. What was she supposed to do now?

She couldn't talk to him about it. He didn't know that she knew. She could tell that he was a very guarded person, that he didn't let others in on his secrets easily. Besides, when had Charlotte heard her father telling her mother about his past? Ten years into the future? Twenty?

Her voice was depressed and sounded helpless when she spoke. "Are you still thinking of reasons for me?"

"Yes." He didn't look away from the fireplace. The only movement he made was to prop elbow up on the headrest so that he could massage his temple with his hand.

"Take your time," she sighed. Hermione stiffly got up, placed Charlotte's Web down on the armchair and crossed the hearth to sit down beside him. She lay against the back of the couch, sitting her legs tucked beneath her. He didn't turn to look at her, even when she reached out to take his other hand in hers. "I have all night." She squeezed his hand between hers, not really knowing who she was trying to comfort with the action – him or herself.

They sat silently for the longest time. Maybe an hour or more. She didn't track how much time had passed. It was just as she was drifting to sleep that she vaguely felt him gently – so gently, maybe her sleep-clouded mind imagined it – take her hand and hold it, as comfortingly as she held his.

End of Ch. 18

xXxXxXx

A/n

Sorry for the long wait. As always, it was school's fault. (sings) Blame university, blame university…

Anyways, I was so excited about the next chapter that I already wrote the first part (collapses into giggles):

Next time (duh duh duh):

-Why Ginny disowned Charlotte (or vice versa) (This is so incredibly, disgustingly, pervertedly funny) (Well, maybe only funny to a few of you, the others'll just drop some jaws at the incredible, disgusting, pervertedness… I'll stop talking now)

- As for Severus and Mione, I have no clue what's coming next. But don't worry, I'll figure it out quickly, just so that I can post the first part.

- The big question of everyone's minds, I'm sure… What the hell was in that tea?

Reviews make me write faster.

XOXO,

Gossip Girl – _no, dammit_, The Creatress


	19. Sleepless Night

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Wow, I went totally off the agenda with this chapter. You'll see why…

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 19

Sleepless Night

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Tom was spying on everyone he saw through the telescope they'd smuggled down from the Astronomy Tower. Charlotte was sitting on the cold, stone floor, her back against a cold, stone wall and wondering why, during all the six years they'd been coming to this secret, secluded area of the castle, neither she nor Tom had thought to bring a chair. Sighing in frustration, she leant over her school work, which was spread out before her. No table, either… They had a damn telescope but nothing else… (They'd brought it so that they could finish astronomy homework at night without being caught – this balcony was very, very well hidden. At the base of the astronomy tower, one had to find a stone in the wall that was about a shade off from those around it and then press a hand to it for seven seconds before the wall fell away to reveal a passage to this place.)

"You think Elizabeth and Daphne might be lesbians?"

The question made Charlotte look up at Tom and scowl. She loved him so much, with her very heart and soul. She loved him more than life itself. She loved him more than ice-cream. But, it was a good thing he didn't know because he was _really_ starting to annoy her. "Don't you have homework to do?" she asked, cuttingly.

Tom glanced at her and smirked. "I'm done," he answered, turning back to the telescope. "They're leaning really close to each other. About half an inch more, and they'd be kissing."

Charlotte resisted the temptation to set Tom on fire. "Fourth year arithmancy is so hard," she complained, throwing down her quill instead. "I quit. I'm barely fourteen years old – I should be running around outside, having fun." She stopped and looked up at the raven-haired Slytherin suspiciously. "How are you done?"

Tom turned to her, exasperated. "I'm not done. I lied," he stated. He turned back to the telescope and positioned it away from Elizabeth and his cousin. "It's Friday afternoon. If you want, I'll help you with it _later_."

Charlotte shot her friend a mildly annoyed look, but couldn't keep the corners of her lips from twitching. They'd grown up together – over the years, his little white lies had grown endearing.

At the moment, Tom was smirking rather sadistically, looking through the telescope at his friends. "Isn't this quaint? Jason's got a letter from Antoinette," he muttered.

"_Another_ one?" Charlotte asked, looking up.

Tom shrugged. "What? She's nine years old. It's not like she has school work to occupy her time," he answered. He frowned a little, and swiveled the telescope away from the long, colourful letter he'd been reading over Jason's shoulder and back toward Elizabeth and Daphne. He stopped short. "Daphne is making out with her fist," he reported.

Charlotte burst out laughing. "What?" she giggled.

"Daphne is making out with her fist," Tom repeated. "I'm not joking. She's kissing her own knuckles. And Elizabeth looks _transfixed_." A tad creeped out, Tom swiveled the telescope away from her. "Want to take a look?"

"N-no…" Charlotte's laughter died down, and she smiled a little wryly, understanding. "They're talking about kissing," she said.

Tom stiffened the tiniest bit before slowly turning to face the girl. "About what now?"

Charlotte nodded. "Well, Elizabeth has a… Ah, boyfriend, back in America. But they haven't kissed yet." Charlotte looked away and turned back to her homework. "Nobody in our year seems to have kissed anybody," she said. She waited a second for Tom to reply, but he didn't. All of a sudden, a shadow fell over her work and she looked up in surprise to see him standing over her.

Tom shoved Charlotte's book and parchments to the side with a flick of his wand before he settled down, cross legged, in front of her, his pant-clad knees grazing against her bare ones. "You've never kissed anybody," he said, almost sounding like he was looking for confirmation. Charlotte looked him, vaguely noticing her heart skipping beat, before shaking her head. "I haven't either." He reached out to take a strand of her hair and started playing with the end, where it slightly curled. She didn't think much of it – he'd tugged at her hair before. That's how children of opposite genders showed their affection – by pulling one another's hair.

"Good." The word was out before Charlotte could stop herself. When Tom raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly, she almost died of embarrassment. "What are you getting at?!" she snapped.

Tom leaned in a little closer, as if he was about to let her in on a secret. Even though they were already in their secret hiding place where no one could see or hear them. "Do you like me?"

Charlotte quickly looked away from his sapphire eyes. "No," she lied. She felt him gently tug on her hair.

"Kiss me anyway?"

Charlotte turned back to Tom, not sure if she'd heard him right. She tried to say 'what?' but the word (if one can call it that) that came out was a faint "Hm?"

Tom wasn't smiling anymore, and he glanced away but his lips were quirked when he turned back to her. "Kiss me."

Charlotte couldn't think of anything else to do but sit stalk still and close her eyes in embarrassment or anticipation (she wasn't sure which). Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of leaning forward, she felt Tom's lips press softly, tentatively against hers. The electricity that ignited and coursed through them made both of them snap their eyes open and stare incredulously at each other.

For a second, neither of them moved or said anything. Girls were always better at these situations and Charlotte regained herself first. "Want to do it again?" she asked, her voice hushed.

Tom, who'd looked a bit like a lost puppy a second ago, started and smirked a little. He let go of her hair to move his hand to the side of her jaw, before kissing her again. He was a bit braver, and, therefore, kissed her a little harder this time.

Charlotte gasped a little against his lips, sighing his name.

"_Ew_!"

Charlotte's eyes snapped open. Ginny was leaning over her, her pretty face twisted in horror. "_I'm_ trying to CPR you awake and _you_ think you're kissing your boyfriend?!"

Charlotte blinked and then looked away. She was lying on the floor. Why was the floor always so hard? And her surroundings were a dark corridor, not a well-lit balcony. And it wasn't Tom's lips pressed against her own, it was… _Ew, indeed!_ "Wah hmnhmfed…?" Charlotte didn't make sense even to herself. She yawned a little, feeling tired.

"Charlotte, get up," Ginny ordered. She reached down and grabbed the younger girl's shoulders.

Charlotte weakly got up. "No hospital wing," she whined, softly.

Ginny glanced at her, feeling a tad sympathetic. "We have to let Madam Pomfrey take a look at you."

Charlotte almost twisted away from the redhead, scowling a little. "I'd rather go back to You-Know-Who. At least, _he_ sends me home on time."

Ginny almost laughed as she dragged Charlotte along. "Come on, the Room of Requirement is around here. Maybe it can help figure out what's wrong with you."

"So…" Charlotte glanced around, tiredly. "What happened?"

Ginny thought for a second and decided it's best to not tell the other girl about her recent discovery. Gods, her boyfriend sounded like a dumb jerk… "Umm, you just fainted," she said.

Charlotte tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes, but succeeded in making herself drowsier. What the hell happened to her? "Hey," she said. "Why did it take you so long to answer?" she frowned.

Ginny turned to her with a scowl before proceeding to pull her down the hallway. "I was thinking about what a dumb jerk your boyfriend is," she snapped. She took a few more steps and they'd reached the door to the special room before Ginny wondered why Charlotte hadn't just galloped forward to defend Tom's honour. Curiously, she turned to look at the brunette and saw that Charlotte was glancing around with wide eyes. Ginny frowned at the blank expression on her face. "Charlotte? What's wrong?"

Charlotte turned to Ginny and looked at her as if she'd never seen her before. She blinked, and then stated, "You have pretty hair."

Ginny stared at Charlotte, dumbfounded for a second. And then she looked exasperated. "Merlin, what was in that tea?" She opened the door and shoved Charlotte in before following, closing the door behind her.

"I'm home!" Charlotte exclaimed. She stepped forward and fell into the lavender sheets of the bed.

Ginny followed, and looked around with her eyebrows raised. She guessed that this was Charlotte's room at home. The walls were white, and practically bare, save for a few pictures here and there. The twin bed was covered in a simple lavender bedspread, trimmed with black and royal purple. The furnishings were simple, too – there was a wooden desk, a dresser and a bookshelf. Very simple, but classy in a youthful way. It was more like Ginny's own room than Hermione's well-decorated, very adult 'let's do everything in creams and browns and have artwork on the falls' style. Ginny almost approved. "You need more pictures on the walls," she said.

Charlotte's indiscernible, muffled reply sounded indignant.

There was a cluster of framed various sized pictures on one wall, and one of the bigger ones caught Ginny's attention. Glancing toward Charlotte, she drifted quietly over to get a better look.

It was a non-magical picture – the figures weren't moving. Hermione beamed happily over the head of the baby boy in her arms. She looked to be in her mid twenties, and the brunette had grown even more beautiful. Her brown curls fell to her hips, and she had pinned some of it back so that it looked less wild. But it was still full of life as ever – baby Jason looked transfixed by a curl that had fallen over her shoulder and was dangling beside him. Beside Hermione, her husband actually looked quite handsome. Severus' skin looked as pale as ever, but his cheeks were filled in a little more, and, apparently, he'd lost a fight to a bottle of shampoo. His shoulder-length black hair was also pulled back into a loose ponytail. He was trying to look as stern as he always did, but there was something in his expression. As exasperated as he looked about having to take a picture (he never did strike Ginny as a photo-person), Severus looked like the expression was taking an effort. Like he was trying very hard not to smile – possibly at the chestnut haired pixie he was holding. Mirroring Hermione's expression while half leaning against her father's shoulder, was little Charlotte.

Ginny grinned. She'd had qualms about the future, and about their relationship, but this solved it for her. This little family picture was too sweet, too happy, too _perfect_ to ruin with any doubts.

xXxXx

Hermione almost fell off the couch, before she started awake and remembered where she was. The fire had grown smaller, and she was alone in the dark room. Severus was nowhere to be found, but, she suddenly noticed, the door to the lab was slightly open and there was a bit of light coming in from the crack. She got up, stretching slightly. How long had she been asleep for? Hours? The whole night? Tiredly, she sauntered to the door and gently pushed it open. She wasn't surprised when she saw Severus standing over the Reverse Time Turning potion.

"How's it coming?" she asked, quietly.

Severus shrugged a little, not even looking up at her. "Fine," he answered, shortly.

"What time is it?" Hermione pressed.

Severus glanced away from the slightly glowing blue liquid before him for a second. "It's the dead of night," he responded.

There was a pregnant pause. "Well?" Hermione asked.

Severus glanced up at her with a scowl. "Well what?"

Hermione met his gaze and voiced the question, even though they were both aware of it. "What now?"

Severus didn't answer for a long time. The silence was deafening, and Hermione thought she could hear her own heart beat. Depending on his answer, she may hear it break, too. "I don't know."

Hermione came into the room, her steps slow, but purposeful. "We can't just stand by and do nothing."

Severus frowned into the potion. "If the future is unchanging, it wouldn't matter what we do, will it?" he asked, a bit of snark in his tone.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and her lips quirked. It was good that he was feeling himself again… At least, a little. But she didn't have much time to smile about it. A knee-jerk reaction and she responded, "Then it's a good thing you don't believe in fate."

Severus looked up at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked. "But I thought you did?"

"I change my mind," Hermione ground out, her irritated tone sounding fake to her own ears. "Fate is bollocks. Decisions are all that matters."

"That's great, you agree with me," Severus said. "Now, then. I _choose_ not to have - "

"Shut up, Severus," Hermione sighed.

Severus looked to her with a raised eyebrow. "I might have not been serious just now. Before you interrupted me."

Hermione frowned. "One – that would mean that you were joking. And _you_ just don't joke; it goes against the laws of nature. Two, saying you choose not to have a family isn't funny either way."

Severus chuckled, which was good to hear, even if his laughter was a tad wry and tired. "I almost miss this. Bantering, our battles of wits." He paused. "Did you ever figure out what to do with those babble fish?"

Hermione smiled a little. "If you can believe I still have a bit of time and energy to spare."

"Tell me about them."

Hermione's eyebrows rose. "About the babble fish?" she asked, disbelievingly. "You want to know about my developments with the fish?" She stopped and smirked. "Still having trouble communicating with your duck friend?"

Severus looked up and smirked before he beckoned her to come closer and across from him. After Hermione hesitantly did so, he turned his gaze to the blue potion in between them on the workbench. "I need a few of your crackpot theories," he said, simply.

Hermione frowned. "Crackpot theories?" she asked. She didn't even notice that she wasn't angry. "I'm not Luna. Did you want me to go upstairs and call her?"

Severus snorted a little. "Spare me," he mock begged. "When did you get so sensitive?" When Hermione only frowned at him, he continued. "I need to hear you talk about things. I need you to talk about magical-scientific matter; I need you to just sit there and chat breezily about things that would give most other people headaches."

"It wouldn't give you one…" Hermione mused, glancing away, resting her elbow on the table, and her chin against her knuckles. She turned back to him in question. "Why? I wouldn't have thought you liked my talking before."

Severus didn't answer right away. He picked up a stirring rod and ran it through the potion. He didn't even need to look at the instruction sheet – he'd memorized his own method down to the last comma. He wouldn't make a mistake. "It's one of those things where… One thinks he hate something. One thinks he loathes it – every time one sees or hears it, one wants to pull his own brain out and stomp on it because this _thing_ that he doesn't like is so…" His voice trailed off. He hadn't noticed Hermione scowling at him.

"_Insufferable_?" Hermione supplied, scowling in a way that would have made him proud.

"Insufferable," Severus agreed. But he hadn't looked up at her yet. Hermione wondered why – he usually met people's gazes when speaking to them. It was a little weird seeing him like this. But she didn't have a chance to comment, because he'd started talking again. "But then," he started, pausing a little. "Other things – even _more_ insufferable things – happen. Children start falling into the past, everybody's going insane over it, and if one doesn't get everything straightened out, the vilest creature on earth is going to adopt one of them as the dark side's small lady. Suddenly, the _first_ insufferable thing one despised becomes… Not so insufferable." He paused, glancing up at Hermione's dumbfounded expression. "And after one hasn't seen it for awhile, he begins to miss it. Especially in the turmoil he's currently in."

Hermione watched his hand move as he stirred the potion. There was a warmth and a coldness starting in her stomach all at once. "I see," she murmured, not completely truthfully. She understood part of what he was saying, but there were things she had to make assumptions on and she didn't want to get her hopes up.

Severus sighed a little, withdrawing the stirring rod. Wandlessly, he magicked it dry and set it down before looking up at Hermione. Feeling his gaze, she looked up and met his eyes. "I need you to start talking incessantly about academia again. The way you used to. I need you to bring some sane, logical…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I need you to bring _normalcy_ into my life."

"Microphones."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

Hermione shrugged, smiling a little. "It wouldn't work in a magical setting, but that's the best I have so far. Microphones. Instead of putting the fish directly into your ear, all you need is a small hearing device, like a headless set of a cell phone…" She trailed off, growing silent.

"I know what all of those things are, Miss Granger." Severus sounded indignant.

Hermione smiled. "Of course." Why should she expect anything less of him? "All you really need is the fish on you, and a sound-transferring device like any transmitter…"

xXxXx

"Truth or dare?" Luna smiled when Harry and Jason looked at her with dumbfounded expressions.

"Maybe we should go out and look for them?" Harry asked her instead. He was lying down on Hermione's bed, his feet propped up against the headboard. Jason was sitting somewhere to his right. "You think something's happened?" He didn't sound worried at all, just exasperated. "Hermione and Charlotte leave, then Ginny goes looking for them, and now it's…" He frowned. "What time is it?"

"It's 3:00 in the morning," Luna answered, promptly, gingerly prodding at the Quibbler she'd been reading.

Harry exchanged a surprised look with Jason. "We've spent the last three hours talking?"

Luna frowned a little. "About flying," she added. Shaking her head, she gave both of them disapproving looks. "Hermione would never approve. Also, I never realized how utterly dull it all is."

Harry was surprised at this little outburst. Granted, it wasn't much, but coming from Luna, it was unexpected. He turned to Jason, and said, in what he thought was a hushed tone, "Wow, she gets cranky when she's tired." He didn't duck quickly enough when Luna hit him with a pillow.

Having effectively silenced Harry, Luna turned to her godson with a bright smile. "Jason, we know nothing about you," she said.

Jason glanced toward Harry, who was mock glaring at Luna. "Isn't telling you against the rules?" he asked.

Luna shrugged. "Maybe you were meant to come back and tell us things?" she mused.

Jason reeled away a little, almost defensively. "My sister warned me about that. No. I won't tell you anything about your discoveries. Or lack thereof."

"Huh," Harry said, interrupting. "I wonder what Ron did when neither Ginny nor I showed up at the common room before bedtime.

xXx

In the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, Ron slept peacefully, temporarily grunting a little when Neville threw a pillow at him in an effort to silence his snoring.

xXx

Harry shrugged the question off before turning to Jason. "So…" His expression became a little challenging. "How is Hermione in the future?"

"Well," Jason responded, shortly. "She's not going to be happy when we get back." He looked despairingly to the ceiling. "My father's going to kill me."

Harry frowned, tensing. "You mean that figuratively or literally?"

Luna looked at him, exasperated. "No, not literally." She scoffed a little before turning to Jason. "But how are things between your father and you at home?"

Jason quirked a shoulder. "It's okay," he said.

Harry and Luna glanced at each other. Harry leaned forward a little. "Okay?"

Jason frowned. "Nothing out of the usual."

"What's the usual?" Harry pressed.

Jason's frown deepened as he remembered their "conversation" from earlier. The regular comfort of being with Uncle Harry and Aunt Luna having settled on him a few hours ago, he wondered if he should tell them. His godparents, especially Harry, generally tended to serve as his diary in the future – especially since Jason had figured out at a young age that Harry can get him whatever he wanted, save during the situations his father was completely against them. He fidgeted, wondering if he can tell them about his woes here in the past, too.

Luna, observant as she was, noticed her godson's hesitation. "What is it, Jason? You can tell us. We can swear it won't leave this room." She looked to Harry. "Will it?"

"Of course, not," Harry assured the two of them. "Tell us what happened, Jason."

Feeling confident now, Jason told the two about the dress down they'd received about stupidly falling into the past. He told them how his father really hadn't had a chance to yell at him, and that was a reason Jason wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.

Harry nodded, along, listening carefully. When Jason finished, he beckoned the Slytherin to come closer. "Give me a second," he told him before tightly covering Jason's ears with his hands. Harry turned to Luna, his face twisted in anger. "That greasy _git_! I told you he was no good!"

Luna glanced at Jason, who was staring blankly at Harry. "Harry, your maturity astounds me," she told him.

Harry let Jason go and smiled thinly at him. "I'm sure he was just worried about you."

Jason raised an eye-brow at Harry. "'I'm sure he was just worried about you?' That's it? Merlin, Harry, in the future, you'd have gone after my father with the Gryffindor's Sword by now."

Luna smiled, lazily. "I guess there's something Harry's maturity doesn't have in common with wine."

"Nothing gets better with age, Luna," Harry bit back.

"Except Hermione and Severus' life," Luna answered. She then turned concernedly to Jason. "Jason, is that why you've been holed up in here all night? Because you're afraid you'll run into your father if you go back to the Slytherin rooms?" Shaking her head, she pulled him into a hug. "And here, Ginny and I were thinking you were just a Mama's Boy."

Jason winced and pulled away from her, blushing a little. "Anyways, it just seems like my father's picking on me for nothing. I mean, he _was_ the one that sent me back after my sister."

"Is he like that often?" Harry frowned.

"No, he usually goes at me more often than my sister. I guess, it's because I'm a boy and I think he feels that I need to be…" His voice trailed off. "Tougher? Anyways, I just want to… Get him back. For earlier today."

Luna hummed, thoughtfully. "You know, it seems that parents never understand how golden their own children are. I mean, there are those who believe their children could do no wrong, but, Jason, you're one of those lucky ones that got the polar opposite for a father."

Jason smiled, a little wryly. "Which is odd, because my mother says we're our father's children."

Harry looked thoughtful. "Seems like all you have to do is show your father how good you are."

Jason started to respond, but he paused and frowned. "No…" He said, slowly. "That wouldn't impress him enough…" His lips quirked a little in a small smirk.

Harry glanced at Jason and reeled back a little. "Oh, Merlin, gross. That's the exact – the _exact_ – look he has every time he gives me detention."

Jason smirked, getting up from the bed and turning to face them. "What I need to do is show him how _Slytherin_ I am…"

xXxXx

Ginny had sauntered to one of the other pictures on the wall. In the second one she'd looked at, little Charlotte looked to be four or five years old. Six at the oldest, the redhead guessed. She was standing beside her little brother in front of a tree, and – Ginny had couldn't help but laugh and think about her family at it – Charlotte's face was pressed against Jason's cheek in a kiss. Jason himself was smiling. She wondered how Jason had first reacted when Charlotte put this up.

Smiling, she turned to the picture right beneath it. In this one, Charlotte was sitting on a white swing, smiling into the camera, a rather devilish look on her small face, and had her hands wrapped around a hand of the boy beside her… The boy wasn't her brother… And the kid was so adorable, so utterly beautiful; Ginny almost forgot how to breathe. He was just a little bigger than Charlotte, so Ginny guessed that they were around the same age. His big, blue eyes were on his friend and he was grinning widely, almost charmingly, at her.

"Urgh, I look so bad in those pictures."

Ginny started a little, but glanced at Charlotte. Charlotte was still in bed, but she'd propped herself up on an elbow and was looking past Ginny at the two pictures.

Raising her eyebrows, Ginny turned back to the pictures to get another look at Charlotte. She hadn't noticed it before, but the two pictures must have been taken on the same occasion. Her goddaughter's hair was pulled back into short ponytails under her ears. Her big, obsidian eyes were absolutely sparkling in the second one (Charlotte's eyes were closed in the first one where she was kissing Jason). However, Ginny noticed with a frown, Charlotte was dressed in a pale pink and white dress in both of them. Granted, she looked adorable in them, but… _Pink and white?_ What had Hermione been thinking? And had Ginny allowed it? Remembering Hermione's Cinderella cartoon and thinking about the fairy godmother who'd turned her pink dress into an icy blue and silver, Ginny suddenly felt like a failure.

"Yes, you could look better," Ginny agreed. Her eyes drifted to the mysterious boy who was sitting next to Charlotte, and once again, she just had to stop and stare at him. Along with the unbelievable amount of cuteness in his face, his clothes were good, too. His short sleeved shirt, which was slightly open at the top to reveal a black undershirt, was as blue as his eyes and his blue denim pants went well with them. He was so adorable, so cute, so… Ginny wanted to hug him and never ever let go, he was so beautiful and perfect. "Hey, who's that?" she asked, casually, turning back to Charlotte.

Charlotte didn't even look up. She let out a childish "Humph!" into her pillow.

Ginny smirked a little, turning back to the boy. "Well, you aren't doing yourself much good by sitting next to him, are you? I mean, you're already in that pink dress, but next to him, you - "

"HUMPH!" Charlotte repeated, loudly.

"That's quite ladylike, Charlotte," Ginny said, sarcastically. Frowning, she took a few purposeful strides toward Charlotte's bed and stood over the girl. "Get up."

"But I don't want to," Charlotte whined.

Deciding that she'd done the annoying voice on purposeful, Ginny grabbed Charlotte's ear again. "Up!" she snapped. Charlotte looked ready to cry, but she sat up and leant against the headboard. Ginny exasperatedly sat down on the edge of the bed. "What's wrong?" she asked, deciding that she should try to care.

Charlotte sniffled a little before looking up at Ginny and studying her. She suddenly narrowed her eyes, as if deciding something. "My boyfriend is an arse!"

Ginny frowned a little. "My mum always told me that whenever she's really, really angry at my dad, she tries to take a deep breath…" Ginny trailed off and gestured for Charlotte to inhale. Charlotte did so, if she was shaking a bit. "And then she tries to remember some good times they had together. Like their first date. How was your first date with Tom?"

Charlotte glared at the redhead, as if everything was her fault. "We haven't even gone out on an official first date."

This made Ginny stop short. "Excuse me?"

Charlotte picked up her pillow and hugged it, as she looked away. "He asked me out right before I got sucked into the past, on an 'official' first date."

Ginny's eyebrows rose. "But you're a couple?" Charlotte once again glared at Ginny, who frowned at the lack of response. "Answer?!" she barked, scaring the younger girl a little.

Charlotte blinked a few times. She didn't want to answer these questions. For one thing, it was surely breaking rules. But Ginny would never accept that as a reason. It took Charlotte half a second to remember the old stand-by. _Obliviate_. Smirking Snapishly a little, Charlotte grew confident. "Ever since we first kissed in fourth year," she started, smirking at the redhead. "We've been snogging. A lot. And we do it very, very, _very_ often."

"Do _it_? _It_ it?" Ginny asked, frowning. For some reason – probably because this was Hermione's daughter talking – she didn't like this news. "You're having sex?"

Charlotte reeled back, all traces of her previous attitude gone. "No! Not doing _that_! Just snogging…" she exclaimed. She paused a second, then told the redhead in a hushed, matter-of-fact tone, "If I have sex before I get married, I'll die."

Ginny's furrowed her eyebrows, frowning. "I beg your pardon?"

Charlotte was blushing a little now. "It's what my father told me."

"Snape told you that if you have sex before you're married, you'll die?" Ginny repeated. If it was anyone other than Charlotte, she couldn't imagine Snape saying that _ever_. But then she shook her head, disbelievingly. "What? He didn't say that. You must have misunderstood."

Charlotte shook her head. "No, that's what he said." She paused for a second. "One time, Tom was sleeping over, but he was in Jason's room."

Ginny leaned back against the bed, making herself comfortable. "But he somehow ended up in your room?" she asked, annoyed.

Charlotte flushed a little, but still managed to scowl. "Yes. He came into my room, with my brother next door and my parents down the hall, to…" She faltered here. "To…"

Ginny smirked. If Charlotte's hesitation and red face were anything to go by, they hadn't done much. This information was very relieving. "To? To?" she prodded, teasingly.

Charlotte deflated a little. "To say goodnight. He didn't even come in."

"Sounds like a perfect gentleman. His mother raised him right." Ginny said, happily. But then, she caught the vicious look on Charlotte's face and frowned, wondering why she would get so upset at the mention of the mother. A thoughtful looked crossed the redhead's face as she pondered this. "A gentleman who has been kissing you for more than two years without having asked you out. How old is he?"

"He'll turn seventeen in a few weeks," Charlotte scowled.

Ginny blinked, and then burst out laughing. "Is that why he _just_ asked you out? Because soon he'll be able to?" Charlotte didn't respond, but just sat, watching the redhead stonily. "Oh, Circe. Tom's one of those guys whose mothers don't let them date before they're adults!" She found this hilariously funny and laughed, completely missing Charlotte's pillow – until it whacked her face. "Hey!" Ginny exclaimed, looking up at Charlotte, who looked a tad satisfied now. "Fine, tell me what happened. He came to you to say goodnight."

Charlotte whimpered a little at the memory. "And I thought I could kiss him. Just a chaste goodnight kiss on the cheek." She gulped, dramatically. "I should have pulled him into my room, but I didn't. So _he_ said goodnight. And then _I_ said goodnight." She pretended not to notice the deadpanned look on Ginny's face. "But then, when I was on my toes, leaning up toward him…"

"Your father showed up?"

Charlotte stopped and scowled. "Am I telling the story or are you?!" Ginny laughed a little, and Charlotte angrily continued. "He just appeared at the end of the hallway. You can never hear him coming. I jumped back from Tom and said goodnight in a loud voice to get rid of him. Tom got the message, too – he escaped into Jason's room." She paused. "But my father just walked up to me and glared at me for a second." She held her forehead. "I probably should have said anything, but I was just too scared to think of anything."

"Then what?" Ginny asked, trying to hide her amusement.

Charlotte groaned a little, shutting her eyes and holding her forehead.

xXx

"_Come with me."_

_Charlotte started a little, but quickly moved to follow her father. Excuses were already running through her head. She hadn't actually kissed Tom, and she wasn't going to. No, she was leaning up to whisper a secret into his ear. ' Father, all your years of spying have made you overtly paranoid.' Charlotte inwardly rolled her eyes. Oh, yeah, that one wouldn't stop her father from murdering her and Tom…_

_Charlotte almost tripped over the rim of her creamy, yellow overcoat and stammered a "thanks" when Severus steadied her. He barely slowed down though, and now he was purposely striding toward the master bedroom with Charlotte's shoulder in an iron grip._

"_Wait here!" Severus barked when they reached the door to the master bedroom. When Charlotte straightened against the wall next to the door, he scowled at her and strode inside, slamming the door behind him._

_Charlotte stood, fidgeting and thinking of more stuff to tell her father. 'I noticed a fly in his ear and leant up to swat it away.'_

xXx

"You'd swat a fly with your mouth?" Ginny cackled.

Charlotte didn't bother responding, but only continued with her story.

xXx

_Charlotte frowned at the thought of a fly in Tom's ear. Yuck. Her father would just send him out for being unclean. Unclean. Dirty. Oh no, what if her father looked into her mind and found out that they'd been snogging for the last year? _

_Abandoning the hallway incident, Charlotte started making up excuses for memories on top of memories of them kissing, hugging, kissing and hugging at once. Memories of Tom holding her close, placing butterfly kisses all over face. Memories of Tom holding her against a wall, as he nibbled on the lobe of her ear before starting to devour her neck. Memories of -_

xXx

"Alright, _alright_, I get the picture! Will you please stop that now and go on?!" Ginny shuddered a little.

Charlotte smirked, delighted by Ginny's discomfort, before continuing.

xXx

'_You see, Father Dear, I'd been bitten by a poisonous snake and Tom was gallantly trying to save my precious life, by bravely sucking out the venom.' That was all Charlotte managed before her parents' door swung open and her mother appeared in the doorway._

"_Charlotte?" Hermione asked. "Come inside. Your father and I would like to talk to you about something."_

_Feeling a little relieved that her mother would be there as well, Charlotte followed her inside. Her parents' bedroom was simple, classy and romantic. It was mostly done in neutral colours, of browns, beiges and creams, with bursts of colours in pictures and artwork on the walls, and a vase of wildflowers on a dresser in the corner. The big, queen-sized bed was on one side of the room and a mini sitting area was on the other side, around a small fireplace._

_Severus was sitting stiffly in the loveseat couch, staring stoically out the window. Hermione gently pushed Charlotte into the armchair across from him and the young girl fidgeted nervously for a second. She suddenly felt small, sitting in one of father's chairs. Hermione didn't seem to notice her daughter's discomfort as she breezily walked across and sat down next to her husband._

_For a second, no one said anything and Charlotte glanced around the room before her eyes fell on a hard-covered, bright-yellow book on the nightstand beside her mother's side of the bed. She squinted, trying to read the words. How to Talk to Your Teen About – the last word was on the bottom of the book, farthest away from her and Charlotte couldn't figure it out. She did, however, make out that it had three letters in it. Assuming the worst, she fixed her eyes on the carpeted floor._

_Hermione cleared her throat a little. "Charlotte…" She glanced at her husband, but Severus unhelpfully kept his gaze on the window. She turned back to her daughter and inwardly took a deep breath. "Your father and I recognize that you're growing into a young woman - "_

_Severus interrupted. "No, actually, your father doesn't," he snapped before uncomfortably returning to the window. "You're a child, and you will always be a child, until you're fifty. At least."_

_Hermione continued, as if she hadn't been interrupted, hoping to calm down her daughter, who was staring at Severus with wide eyes. "A young woman who will feel certain things towards boys …" She paused a little. "Or girls." Severus snorted, softly, but didn't interrupt. Charlotte wished the couch would swallow her whole. Hermione went on, as if she hadn't noticed either of them. "First of all, we'll both be here for you, no matter what." She paused, and glanced sharply at her husband, as if daring him to make a comment on that, but he didn't. "Anyways…" Hermione grew a little flustered here. "There are some important decisions that you have to make. About sex."_

_Charlotte squirmed, feeling like spiders were crawling in and out of her ears. It was a tad odd, hearing her mother say the word. She noticed that her father was now scowling out the window._

_Hermione paused for a second. "Remember, you _never_ have to do anything you don't want to. You always have _choices_."_

_Severus suddenly sat up, scowling blackly. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, softly to his wife. He then turned to his daughter. "Charlotte! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" When his daughter snapped to attention and met his gaze, he told her, "There are no choices. There's one thing, and one thing only, that _you_ need to know." For a second, he paused dramatically and then gave his daughter his most threatening look. "Charlotte Semele Snape. If you have sex before you're married, you will die… Because I will kill you." _

xXx

"Ah. _That_ makes perfect sense," Ginny said, nodding. "What did you do then?"

"I started crying," Charlotte said, matter-of-factly. "What else was there to do?"

Ginny winced. "It was bad enough to make you cry?"

Charlotte shook her head. "No, as scary as it was, I didn't know what else I could do to get out of there as soon as possible. So I just brought out the waterworks."

Ginny stared at the other girl for a second, before she slowly started to smile. "You can cry on cue?" she asked.

In response, Charlotte's breath quickened to short gasps and her doe eyes got rounder and shinier, as she thought of the saddest things she'd ever experienced. In a few moments, she was trembling and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Ginny laughed a little, and clapped in a bravo. "Nicely done."

Charlotte instantly straightened, grinning and wiping her tears away with a handkerchief that the Room of Requirement made appear in front of her. "Thanks," she mumbled, both to Ginny and the room.

Ginny smiled, a little thoughtfully. "But, that's a _lot_ like how I do it…"

Charlotte shrugged a little, before glancing up at the older girl and laughing, defeated. "Fine, I'll admit it. You taught me."

Ginny grinned, now feeling proud of herself. This, she felt, made up for the whole pink dress incident. "But a word of advice?" she couldn't help but adding. "Gulp a little bit near the beginning. That gives off the impression that you're trying _not_ to cry."

Charlotte pouted a little at the advice, feeling that her performance was 100, but decided to take it gracefully. She leant back against the headboard, feeling lighthearted and the girls slipped into a comfortable silence. After a while, she noticed that the redhead's eyes were closed and she frowned, leaning forward. "Hey!" She poked her in the shoulder.

Ginny's eyes snapped open and she glared at Charlotte. "What?!" she snapped. "I didn't take a nap like you did just now."

Charlotte quirked a shoulder. "But you have to listen to me complain," she said, inwardly smiling as Ginny sat up.

"I don't know why I didn't just drop you off at the hospital wing," Ginny grumbled. She turned to the brunette. "Weren't we supposed to see if that tea had any other effects on you?"

Charlotte smiled, brightly. "See? So you can't let me go to sleep, because what if I slip into a coma?"

Ginny scowled at her. "The Dark Lord help you, I'll pull on your ear so hard…" she threatened. Nevertheless, she straightened a little. "Keep talking. Tell me about your jerk boyfriend."

Charlotte scowled suddenly, her temper flaring. "Of course, I just realized that during our whole relationship, he's been pushing me around because he knew I liked him. Even when we were just friends. I can't believe all the stuff I let him get away with."

"Please elaborate," Ginny said, starting to feel a little bored.

"A few days before I got here, he told me that I'm a bad kisser." Charlotte suddenly broke the scowl on her face to look away and momentarily sniffle, dramatically. "He said I never _do_ anything."

"I taught you how to cry when you want to, but I haven't taught you how to kiss your man?" Ginny laughed a little, even though it was dry. The statement felt off to her. Apparently, Charlotte agreed. The brunette did not look amused.

"You wouldn't," Charlotte huffed, rolling her eyes a little.

Ginny looked at her, sharply. "Pardon?"

Charlotte shrugged, still staring off to the side. "I said, you wouldn't, is all." But then she turned and caught the look on Ginny's face. "What?"

"Why wouldn't I teach you how to kiss your boyfriend?" Ginny asked, curiously.

Charlotte stopped short, wondering if she'd insulted the other girl in some way. "Umm… Why _would_ you?" she asked.

Ginny frowned at her. "What was the point of that little eye roll? What – did you think I don't know how to kiss people?"

Charlotte froze. "I rolled my eyes? I didn't – I don't think you don't know how to kiss people." She stopped, realizing how confusing that sounded. She paused, and then tried again. "You wouldn't teach me how to kiss Tom."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at the brunette. "I am going to teach you how to kiss your boyfriend."

xXxXxXxXx

Hermione had just finished shooting down another one of Severus' scathing judgments and doubts about the babble fish when she found some of her Gryffindor bravery. "You know…" she started. "As long as we're talking about stuff, we could do it over a meal, and a few drinks. Maybe a candle in the middle of it all?"

Severus stopped short, taken off-guard, but then, he slowly said, "Not around here. There are spies everywhere. And, you haven't graduated."

Hermione inwardly smiled at the fact that he was avoiding the big, bad D word as much as she just had. "After graduation, of course. In London. Or we could apparate to somewhere even further."

Severus didn't respond for a second. When he spoke, his usually controlled and even voice was cautious. "You're sure?" he asked.

"About?"

"About... Going to London?" Severus scowled.

Hermione smiled a little, and then nodded, firmly. "Of course, I'm sure." She paused, laughing a little. They'd been up all night, and it was near morning now. Even though they were in the dungeons with no windows, it seemed a little bit brighter in the room. "Most people date first. Then they get married, and then have children."

Severus smirked, wryly into the time turning potion, his usually pessimism coming up. "Actually, there are many who barely date, don't get married, accidentally have children and then break up because of it."

Hermione frowned at him. "It's a real problem," she acknowledged. "But, getting back on track. It's almost funny how everything blew in reversed for us."

Severus actually chuckled a little. "A real riot," he muttered, sarcastically. He fixed his gaze on the potion.

Hermione looked up at him, feeling a little timid all of a sudden. Her conversation barely two nights ago with the girls came back to her. _She_ was going to sleep with _him_. The thought made her flush again and she looked away, glancing at him demurely. She had decided years earlier to abstain; she'd never understood what the big rush was for. She'd never thought of sleeping with anyone before. She'd kissed and made out with the boys she'd dated, but they never went far. That was probably why it was easy to kiss Severus… She just closed her eyes, and leant forward to press her lips against his. With Charlotte and Jason around, it was easy to forget that, come a school day, he's going to swooping around in class, judging her every move.

But now… Hermione bit the inside of her lower lip, feeling a little flustered.

"What's wrong?" Severus asked, startling her. Hermione looked up, but before she could react, she suddenly felt him gently prod her mind. She panicked, which really disabled her ability to protect her memory and he quickly ran through her outburst with her two girlfriends about having to sleep with him. For half a second, he looked at her as if he'd never seen her before, but then, his lips quirked into a small smirk. "Charlotte has better occlumency skills than you."

Hermione scowled at him, her face red enough to put the Weasleys' hair to shame. "Only because you started training her at birth!" she snapped. "I thought I told you it's rude to read people's minds without their permission?!"

Severus chuckled, but then he suddenly reached out and covered her hand with his, gently running his thumb along the lines in her palm. Hermione's heart skipped a beat, as an electric buzzing shot up her arm at his touch. (The mediwitch in her immediately concluded that she must be having a heart attack.) For a second, Hermione stared at his hand, wondering why he would do something so out of character. And then, he spoke and she realized he was playing with her.

"Earlier today, what were we in the middle of before Elder interrupted us?" Severus asked, casually, now running his thumb along her knuckles.

Hermione fought to fix a firm frown on her face. "We were talking," she told him, matter-of-factly. She tried to look at him, but found that she couldn't hold his gaze. "You were telling me how Charlotte's kidnapping made you truly realize that you love your children, and then I gave you a hug because I appreciated how open and honest you were being."

Severus got up, smirking wickedly. "It's horribly rude to lie to people," he said, coming around the table to sit on her bench beside her. He almost laughed out loud when Hermione squirmed away from him a little. "Why so scared?" he asked, his tone low.

"You have horrible morning breath."

Severus abruptly let go of her hand. For a second, he didn't know what to think and almost brought his hand to his mouth. "Are you serious?" he finally asked.

Hermione winced a little. "No…" She said, sounding a little apologetic.

Severus gently snorted. "Of course, not. Firstly, it's not even morning. Secondly, it's not like I even slept a wink tonight."

Hermione turned to him, curiously, all traces of her shyness gone. "So do you usually have morning breath?"

Severus frowned a little, before smirking a little and turning to her with a raised eyebrow. "I guess that's something you're just going to have to find out for yourself."

Hermione decided to dodge the bait this time around. "What? Did you want me to come check you with a breathalyzer early one morning?"

Severus almost laughed out loud at her blunt tone. She'd gotten over her momentary timidity quite well. "Once again, Miss Granger, the purpose of breathalyzers isn't lost on me. It measures alcohol content, not morning breath."

"Alcohol content," Hermione repeated. She gave him a pointedly disapproving look. "So, seriously then, that might come in handy."

Severus frowned a little. "Seriously, Hermione? I'm not as much a drunkard as everyone around me makes me out to be."

Hermione smiled, wryly a little. "Is that so?"

"I'm a spy. I get stressed out," Severus snapped.

Hermione frowned a little, suddenly feeling sorry for bringing up something that was obviously so closely related to his espionage duties. She almost angry at herself – just when he was starting to feel a little bit relaxed around her, she'd touched a nerve. "Do my eyes really have the colour of hard liquor?" she suddenly heard herself asking.

Severus looked at her, surprised. "I beg your pardon?"

Hermione, now feeling twice as uncomfortable as she had before when he'd read her mind, shuffled a little on the workbench. In the cold room, she was suddenly very aware of the warmth coming off his body. Not even the blue bell flames under the time turning potion on the table match him. "A few nights ago, when… When you…"

Severus stiffened a little. "Right. After I got drunk with Elder…" he trailed off. Point against him on the drinking issue. But, luckily, Hermione seemed not to have noticed and she was talking again.

"You told me that… Your whiskey reminded you of my eyes, and you couldn't concentrate," Hermione said, stammering a little. They hadn't talked about that significant night, especially since he had panicked the next morning and run off on her. "Is that true? Or were you just seeing funny colours?" she asked.

Severus paused, thinking about his answer. He almost told her that he was just seeing funny colours. Greater was the temptation to tell her that he didn't even know what she was talking about – 'you see, Hermione, sometimes I lose my memory after drinking so heavily. But, I don't do it often, so it's okay.' But, he didn't. "It's true. The Ogden's reminded me of your eyes." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye to see her reaction.

Hermione was staring at the other side of the room, an unreadable expression on her face. "Huh," she stated. "That's odd. The first time someone says my eyes remind him of something, and it turns out to be… Alcohol." She waited for Severus to reply, and she grew a little tingly under his gaze, but he didn't say anything. So, she asked, "Why not… Honey? You could have been adding honey to your tea, and that could have reminded you of my eyes. But, no. Or resin. You have resin in this room that you use for potions – why didn't that remind you of my eyes?" Severus muttered something, and Hermione glanced at him, frowning. "Pardon?" she asked, softly.

"Alcohol is intoxicating," Severus repeated. There were no signs of teasing about him now. He was looking at her, his gaze intense and serious.

Hermione swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. "What?" she murmured, weakly. She almost yelped when he reached out to gently brush away a strand of hair that had partially fallen over her eyes. Her intoxicating eyes. Even though he hadn't even touched her skin, the area his finger had lingered above suddenly burned.

"You can be intoxicating. Insufferably intoxicating." His fingers was now tracing now the strand of hair he'd moved, from root to tip, carefully following the untamable twists and turns in it.

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Hermione asked, following the journey of his fingers out of the corner of her eye. She could feel his eyes on her face, but couldn't bring herself to look up at him.

Severus chuckled a little. "You're bad like relaxants. I tend to avoid them – spies need to react quickly, and relaxants make you too calm. A relaxed spy is a dead spy. But once in a while, I want something – I need something… To make me feel like nothing matters."

Hermione inhaled sharply when his hand left her hair so that he could drag his knuckles across her jaw line. Her face was flaming – in colour and in feeling. She gulped a little, trying to make up a response to what he'd just told her. "I think _some_… a few relaxants can be good for you," she mused. His hand had drawn close to her mouth. Without thinking about it, she lightly kissed his knuckles.

Severus stopped short, fire bursting through him through her lips. While it was exciting, it was also calming… Like slipping into a hot bath or sitting in ones favourite sofa by a flaming fireplace. When Hermione finally turned her liquor-coloured eyes to meet his own, neither of them moved for a second. Severus regained himself a little. "Maybe," he told her. And then, he cupped her cheek and kissed her.

This wasn't like the other two times they'd kissed. It wasn't as strange and incredible as having Hermione tie him up in front of the headmaster's office. It wasn't as teasing as earlier, when she'd taunted him about the first kiss and whether or not he was going to take revenge.

This time, there was fire and ice coursing through both of them. All doubts and uncertainties about who they are now in the present, and who they may be in the future had momentarily melted away. All they could possibly think about now was the way their lips fitted together perfectly, how they naturally moved together as if some higher being had choreographed their techniques to suit each other before sending their children into the past to push them together.

Hermione sighed a little when they finally pulled away a bit. Not wanting to move away from him, lest it somehow ruin the moment and send them back to the awkwardness they'd felt a few nights ago when Jason showed up, she moved back toward him to lean against his shoulder, burying her face into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes for a second. There was always that subtle hint of a spice on him… What was it? She was still half pondering this when she quietly asked him, "Do you feel relaxed now?"

Severus gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "As relaxed as I could be," he muttered, wryly.

Hermione almost laughed at the dryness in his tone, even though there was a seriousness in the situation. "Right," she murmured. "A relaxed spy is a dead spy." She paused a little, and then said, "If I'm an intoxicating relaxant… The next time you come back from a stressful night at your side job, maybe, you can come see me? Instead of getting drunk with your spy friends?" She smirked, challengingly. "They can do it without you, right?"

Severus chuckled into her hair. "Somehow, I doubt it," he muttered.

"Somehow, I don't."

Severus laughed, dryly. "They tried getting into my cabinet one time. They couldn't get it open. They'd be lost without me."

Hermione pulled away and met his eyes with an amused look on her face. "Twelve-year-olds can break into your labs, but two fully grown Death Eater spies can't break into your liquor cabinet?" she asked. "It's nice to know where you put your effort."

Severus shrugged. "Maybe I was being easy on Charlotte and you."

Hermione laughed, leaning into his chest again. "There are so many things wrong with that assumption, I don't know where to begin. Why would you have wanted me to break into your labs?"

Severus thought for a moment. "Maybe I knew Lockhart had signed you permission to get a dangerous potions book out of the library. And maybe you would have used it to get into trouble, and then I could have used your trouble to get that human Barbie fired." Hermione suddenly pulled away, her eyes alight with mirth as she laughed. Severus frowned. "What?" he asked.

"You learned who Barbie is…" Hermione giggled. "Severus Snape using a Barbie reference." Severus scowled, but suddenly stopped short. Hermione looked up at him, her laughter dying away. "What is it?"

Severus glanced away for a second. "Nothing," he muttered. He caught the questioning look on Hermione's face and scowled again. "Just realizing the horror of me using… That doll's name for anything."

Hermione seemed satisfied with this. "Wow, now you're afraid to use Barbie's name. You-Know-Who has competition."

Severus smirked, wryly, but chose not to respond. A silence fell around them for a few seconds, and Severus, with his usual pessimism, broke it. "How long will this last?" he asked.

"How long will what last?" Hermione asked, the corner of her lips twitching.

"This," Severus said, gesturing between them with his free hand. "Usually, as soon as we make some kind of progress in our…" He trailed off, searching for a word.

"Relationship?" Hermione supplied, her eyebrows rising.

"Situation," Severus stated, choosing to be stubborn. "As soon as we make progress on our situation, we land on a snake square that takes us back to the beginning."

Hermione stared at him for a second. "Snake square… Snakes and ladders." Despite what he'd just said, she slowly grinned. "In a good mood today, aren't you? Referencing toys and games at every turn?"

Severus scowled. "I was just saying."

Hermione smiled a little, glancing away for a second. "You almost sounded wistful just then. For something to come and knock us back down."

"I'm a sadist, not a masochist," Severus stated.

Hermione only smiled up at him. "I know."

Severus looked around, the spy in him becoming a little perturbed. "It's just… I have the worst luck. We're at a reasonably good point at the moment. By now, something would have happened to make me run away from the idea of a family life…"

Hermione stood as still as Severus did, neither of them knowing what they were waiting for. Something bad about the future to just drop out of thin air? … No, if it was about the future, it would drop out of the wardrobe as usual. After a few moments passed in silence and stillness, Hermione smiled at Severus. "Well," she stated. "Nothing happened."

Severus frowned, but then nodded, though he still glanced around a little. "Nothing happened," he echoed.

Hermione grinned, happily and looked up at him, hopefully. "I guess… I guess that means you're not running away anymore?"

Severus turned to her and smirked. "I suppose n - "

There was a knock at the door.

End of Ch. 19

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A/n

Doncha hate me?? Quick – Who's at the door?

Okay, I took away a few things that I promised you in this chapter. I didn't tell you what happened between Gin and Charlotte in the future, and I neglected to tell you what was in that tea. To make it up, the next one will be longer (yes, yes, this one's been the longest chapter in a long while and the next one shoulder be longer long long long)

Next chapter:

Who's at the door? Totally unrelated is, what's Jason planning to do to get his 'revenge?'

Severus' first meeting with Charlotte since the kidnapping incident.

Minerva (oh how we love thee) finds out. (Run, Severus! RUN! Maybe Voldemort could hide you…?)

Why Ginny disowned Charlotte (lots of clues in this chapter, but, haha, next chapter has the kissing lesson)

Seriously, my Lord, what was in that tea? And what's it doing to Charlotte, making her all jumpy and blanking out randomly?

Show me you love me – REVIEW!!

Luv

Creatress


	20. I've Been Snogging Who?

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

Guys, you're going to love this…

Luv

Creatress

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Chapter 19

I've been snogging who all my life?!

There was a knock at the door.

Hermione, at first, looked exasperated and disbelieving. Then her face took on a mix of anger and sadness. "Why can we never catch a break?!" she hissed, softly.

Severus smirked, wryly but was feeling merciful enough to calmingly swirl one of her ringlets between his fingers before moving away from her to go to the door. "Who is it?!" he snapped. As soon as it was out, Severus thought he heard the faint sound of pattering footsteps getting louder. All of a sudden, there was a loud, resounding bang before everything fell silent.

Severus took a second to exchange a bewildered glance with Hermione before taking his wand out and slamming the door open. He stepped out into the darkness, and soon felt Hermione come up behind him.

"Lumos," Hermione whispered. She held her wand up to shine the light down the hallway, and suddenly let out a terrified scream. "_Monster_!" she shrieked, stumbling backward into a startled Severus.

Severus had half a second to turn around and catch sight of it – it looked terrifyingly bloodcurdling. It was tall, with wild hair and sickly putrid green skin. Its dark robes were flying behind it as it barreled down the hallway toward them. Unable to recognize what kind of a monster it was (too scary to be a banshee), Severus reacted like the brave spy and soldier he was. "_Run_!" he ordered, turning around and catching Hermione's hand in his. Soon they were running the other way, Severus in the lead, dragging Hermione along. He didn't know where he was going, and the monster's loud, indiscernible roars behind them didn't help.

"It's following!" Hermione cried out.

Severus thought her voice sounded like it was coming from far away. "Keep moving!" he snapped. After what seemed like an eternity of running, Severus suddenly saw the giant dragon at the entrance to the headmaster's office and rooms. His subconscious had driven him here. He inhaled, getting ready to holler out the ridiculously long, foreign password.

"_Tim Horton's Ice Caps!"_

The dragon started in its slumber, and opened its eyes sleepily. The statue saw the Potions Master and the Head Girl, and heard the password. Before it could growl at them for disturbing its sleep, it caught sight of the creature behind them. Shocked and alarmed, it stumbled back away from the door in an attempt to get out of the monster's way.

Severus sprinted up the staircase, a hand still tightly wrapped around Hermione's. She was panting heavily behind him, obviously pushing herself to the limits to keep up. He almost turned around to assure her that they were almost there. But, he didn't. Finally, to the side, a large wooden door appeared. Severus didn't even bother knocking. He held up his wand and blasted the headmaster's door to the side before pulling Hermione in. "Albus, there's a monster outside!"

Dumbledore twitched before groggily getting up. "Minerva…?" he muttered sleepily.

Before Severus could respond, Hermione screamed again, making him turn around. The monster was now in the doorway, its wide eyes fixed menacingly on them.

Severus took a few steps back, still holding Hermione to him. "Albus! ALBUS, GET UP!! It's a banshee!"

The banshee scowled terrifyingly from the doorway. "I am no banshee, you _idiot_!" she shrieked, horribly.

Hermione covered her ears, wincing at the shrill tone. Severus did likewise. "Swamp thing!" he deduced, loudly.

The monster let out a high-pitched growl before thundering into the room.

"Minerva! What is the meaning of this?!" Dumbledore suddenly demanded, now fully awake.

Severus and Hermione froze before turning to face what they'd mistaken for a monster. Under the bright light that the headmaster's room suddenly plunged into, it was easier to figure out that it'd been McGonagall who'd chased them down. Her hair, which was normally pulled back into a bun, was rolled into rollers, but she'd lost half of them, which made her hair stick up everywhere. Her nighttime face mask was lime green, and was starting to crack a little. Obviously, she'd just woken up because her eyes were wide and bloodshot. But all of this only enhanced the murderous look on her face.

"Oh no…" Hermione muttered, shrinking back behind Severus. Debatably, she was even more scared now than she had been before. "She saw us come out of the room together. She's going to kill us," she whispered.

Severus glanced at the deputy headmistress and frowned, quickly forgetting his earlier fear. "We'll see about that," he muttered, getting up. "Obli - "

McGonagall slapped Severus' wand out of his hand before curling her hand into a fist and boxing him in an ear.

For a second, no one moved. Dumbledore and Hermione stared in disbelief. Severus' jaw dropped in shock, as he gingerly brought his hand up to his ear. "Did you - ? You just… You just hit me!" he said, disbelievingly, gently rubbing his ear.

McGonagall was staring from her closed fist to Severus, and then back again. "Oh, my…" She murmured.

Dumbledore shook his head from the bed, the point of his nightcap swaying with the motion. "Tsk tsk, Minerva," he intoned.

McGonagall looked apologetic. "Severus, I'm so sorry," she murmured. But then she looked at him for a second, and her gaze traveled to Hermione before she narrowed her eyes. "No, wait, I'm _not_ sorry! What are you two doing?!" she demanded. She looked from Severus to Hermione, and back again, practically releasing smoke from her nostrils. "Severus, you've a wife and two children! Is that of no consequence to you?! And with a student!" She whipped around to face Hermione. "Hermione Jane Granger!" she snapped. "I can't believe this. I simply _can't_!"

Hermione peeked out from behind the Potions Master. "Then don't?" she suggested, weakly. "This is all just a bad nightmare." In a hushed, barely audible voice, she hissed to Severus, "Hex her. Hex her…"

Severus looked to the other side of the room where his wand was with a wistful look on his face. Gulping, he turned back to McGonagall. "Technically, I don't have a wife. I will, but I don't right now." Hermione immediately boxed Severus' other ear. "Ahh!" Severus hissed. He turned to the young brunette in disbelief. "What? We're not married right now."

"_What_?!" McGonagall shrieked from the doorway, her eyes widening. The mask was really starting to crack around her eyes. "What does _that_ mean?!"

"Yes, what does that mean?!" Dumbledore suddenly demanded, loudly. He scrambled out of bed, and went to stand next to McGonagall before narrowing his eyes at his former and current students. "Severus, Hermione, I don't know _anything_ about what is going on here! Absolutely _nothing_! But it is unacceptable that you hid something so big from the two of us. Now, explain yourselves!"

McGonagall was studying the man beside her with narrowed eyes. "You _knew_!" she hissed, her voice sounding enlightened. "You little…" she started, her even voice almost trembling in rage. As Dumbledore started cowering under her fury, she scowled and turned to Severus and Hermione. "Explain yourselves!" she barked. "This instant!"

Murmuring a small prayer to herself, Hermione stepped out to stand beside Severus, deciding that hiding wasn't going to help. "Professor… This might be really hard to believe, but…" She glanced at Severus before continuing. "Charlotte and Jason are my children."

McGonagall's expression of fury quickly became that of blankness. She stared at the two of them in shock for a second. After that moment of silence, she opened her mouth to say something, only to close it again a second later. She did this repetitively until Severus angered her again. Which he did, obligingly.

"She looks a bit like one of your babble fish," Severus said casually to Hermione.

McGonagall scowled at him. "You _Slytherin_!" she screeched.

Severus frowned, looking a little irritated. "For all the love everyone dotes on my children, no one ever notices that Jason's one, too." He paused for a second. "Speaking of Slytherin, why were you down there?"

McGonagall threw up her hands, exasperated. "I don't know! Someone just banged on my door and woke me up! I don't even know who it was. Probably Peeves."

xXxXxXxXx

Jason burst through the Head Girl's room door, startling Harry and Luna. He all but slammed the door shut, and leant against it, making a weird sound as he laughed and tried to catch his breath at the same time. A few beads of sweat were glistening at his temples and his usually pale face was a bit red.

"Jason? Are you alright? What happened?" Luna asked, looking the younger boy over.

Harry helped Jason stand, frowning. "This is a really weird night," he muttered. "What did you just do?"

Jason finally calmed down enough to talk. He smirked, wryly. "Father Dearest is going to get into so much trouble…"

xXxXxXxXx

McGonagall shook her head, bewildered. "So I chased the little bugger down to the dungeons and saw you… Saw you…" She trailed off, choking heavily.

Severus scowled. "You saw us _coming out of a laboratory_."

McGonagall wasn't even listening to Severus anymore. She'd turned to Hermione, and her look had turned into one that was a mixture of anger and concern. "How did it happen?"

Hermione looked exasperated. "Nothing _happened_," she explained. "We were just talking."

McGonagall didn't give up. "No… Why would you…?" she trailed off, sputtering slightly.

Dumbledore regained some of his bravery and tried to help the situation. "Minerva, would you like a chair? You look a little green."

"_Get out_!" McGonagall shrieked at him. Her face mask was turning to dust on her cheeks.

Dumbledore didn't stay to argue. He was almost out the room when Severus tried to stop him. "Don't leave us alone with her!" the Potions Master yelled. Dumbledore gave him an apologetic look before escaping from the situation.

McGonagall turned to glare menacingly at Severus and Hermione, who were both growing even more nervous now that there would be no one to witness the murder when she would kill them.

Severus thought fast. He didn't hesitate to act after the idea hit him – he slightly twitched his left arm. Clutching his left forearm with his right hand, he hissed a little, twisting his face into an expression of pain. As expected, both women turned forgot the situation and turned to him in concern. "The Dark Lord is calling…"

McGonagall placed a hand over her heart. "Severus?"

Hermione almost touched his shoulder, but thought better of it and retracted her hand. "What can he want?" she muttered.

Severus shook his head. "It's really burning. He wants me there urgently." Frowning, he hurriedly pushed past Hermione and McGonagall, who actually opened the door for him. In the doorway, he paused and pretended to hesitate, looking toward the two women for exactly 1.7 seconds before hurrying away.

Hermione was now left alone with McGonagall.

xXxXx

Severus wasn't feeling the least bit guilty as he ran back to the dungeons. McGonagall wouldn't have hesitated to kill him. But she would never in a million years have put any of the blame on Hermione. Hermione was the perfect, smart Gryffindor girl who the older woman absolutely adored. If anybody could handle this situation, it was Hermione. Maybe there was an alternate reason as to why he married her…

As the thought settled, he suddenly felt guilty, remembering the genuine concern on Hermione's face as he left the room. He forced the thought away from his head, and suddenly thought about why McGonagall had been down in the dungeons in the first place. Had Peeves just banged on her door and run? Why had he hit the lab doors as well?

Severus was still pondering this as he made his way to his rooms. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear someone coming up behind him. "Peeves," he hissed inwardly. Before he could whip around to hex the ghost, someone uttered his name.

"Severus?"

Severus frowned. "Elder?" he asked. He squinted into the darkness, and waited until the other man stepped into the torch lit hallway the Potions Master was standing in. Obviously, Elder had just arrived in from the wardrobe. "Is Weasley with you?"

"

xXxXx

If Charlotte wasn't nervous before, she was now. She was practically trembling. But as much as she wanted to tell Ginny that none of this was necessary, she couldn't get a word in because the redhead was giving her a passionate lecture on the importance of the tongue.

"You can't just stand there with puckered lips!" Ginny exclaimed. "God gave you all the other parts of your mouth for a reason."

For the second time that evening, Charlotte began to imagine that she was having tea with Voldemort again, and not here in this particular time and space, with Ginny. All of a sudden, the older girl hopped up onto the bed in front of Charlotte, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Hands are important, too," Ginny stated.

Charlotte blinked. "Hands?"

Ginny rolled her eyes a little. "Honestly, girl, haven't you ever practiced on any of your friends?"

Charlotte blanched a little, thinking she heard that line in a movie somewhere. "No," she muttered.

"Holding someone is important," Ginny said, wisely. She suddenly reached up and cupped Charlotte's jaw in her palm. Apparently, she didn't notice the brunette's eyes widen nervously. "This is very simple action, but the contact is both sensuous in that you're touching slightly sensitive skin and practical in that you can hold your partner in place. Understand?"

Charlotte felt the same feeling she felt when her mother tried to talk to her about sex. There were invisible spiders on her skin. "Yeah…" she muttered, blankly. "Tom held my jaw, too…"

Ginny shrugged. "Your eyes also very important. They must be _heavy_ and _soft_."

Charlotte stopped short and looked up at the redhead blankly. "Heavy and soft? What does that mean?"

Ginny gave her an exasperated look before sitting up on her knees so that she was a head above Charlotte. "Just look up at me through your lashes. Pretend I'm your boyfriend."

"Ew…" Charlotte winced, backing away a little. Ginny rewarded her chastity by letting go of her jaw to twist her ear.

Ginny let go of Charlotte's ear, ignoring the other girl's quiet whimper. She frowned when Charlotte gave her the look of a wounded kitten as she rubbed her ear. "That's not the look!" she exclaimed. "And you might want to lose that ear-rubbing bit…"

Charlotte sniffled a little, letting go of her ear. Before she could tell Ginny that ear-pulling was mean, the redhead was talking again.

"Look at me like I'm a big ice-cream sundae," Ginny said.

"Ice-cream sundae…?"

"The point is to look at him in a way that tells him without words that you're going to eat him up," Ginny said, nodding smartly.

Charlotte felt a little sick. She glanced around for her wand. Or Ginny's wand. Or maybe another candlestick. "Eat him up…" she repeated, questionably.

Ginny nodded. "Now for the important stuff," she began.

Charlotte scowled a little. "Soft and heavy eyes weren't important?" she muttered.

Ginny smirked. "Fine, forget that. I'll tell you how I do it, okay?" She continued on, without waiting for Charlotte's response. "I'd kiss him once, softly. And when I have my lips over his, I would really gently trace his bottom lip with the tip of my tongue. And when I get to the corner, I would - "

"Kiss the corner of your partner's lips, before moving back to centre and pushing your tongue through his lips…?" Charlotte suddenly asked, her eyes widening.

Ginny looked surprised. "How did you know - ?"

"Eeeeeewwwwww!" Charlotte suddenly squealed. She scrambled off the bed. "Gross, gross, gross!" she exclaimed.

Ginny was looking at the brunette with confusion. "Charlotte, what is wrong with you?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed a little. "And how did you know that I kiss like that?"

Charlotte looked like she was about to burst into tears. "My boyfriend kisses like that!" she exclaimed.

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "What?" she asked, deadpanned.

"Oh, gods, he _looks_ like his father, but he kisses like…" Charlotte trailed off before her face scrunched up again. "Ewww!"

"Kisses like…?" Ginny asked, moving off the bed. She stopped in front of Charlotte. There was a fluttering in her stomach.

"_You_! Oh, gross," Charlotte moaned, turning away.

"How could he kiss like _me_?!" Ginny demanded.

Charlotte sputtered a little, and tried to think of a way to lie herself out of the situation. Time travelling rules forbid she say anything, but the realization was already there in Ginny's eyes. "Fine – he's your son." As soon as the redhead's eyes widened, she added accusingly, "_You're_ the crazy lady who won't let him date until he's seventeen!"

Ginny had stiffened and stepped away. She clasped her hands over her mouth. She was practically trembling when she spoke again, looking as disgusted as Charlotte looked. "I just tried to teach you how to seduce my own son?!" she exclaimed.

"I know!" Charlotte exclaimed, looking ready to shove a fist into her mouth.

"Eww!" Ginny wailed.

"I know!" Charlotte repeated. "I've been dating your son, but I've been snogging _you_ all my life?!"

Ginny looked like she was about to respond, but the redhead suddenly stopped short, a blank look coming over her face. Charlotte was about to ask her what else had gone wrong, before she realized that Ginny was looking past her. Charlotte turned around and blanched, wishing again that something would swallow her whole. Tom Elder Sr. was standing in the doorway.

The spy looked decidedly nervous as he took a single step into the room. "I just came for…" He trailed off, for once in his life, not knowing what to say. Charlotte had a way of saying things that rendered usually quick-witted men speechless. However, the Room came to his rescue and deposited what he'd come for in the air in front of him. Tom quickly took the diadem into his hand before uncomfortably giving the girls a curt nod, unable to meet either of their gazes. "And now, I'll leave you ladies to it…" he muttered. He was just about to shut the door when Charlotte stopped him.

"Wait!" Charlotte blurted. She winced when she felt the other two look at her as if she was crazy. She dropped her gaze to the floor, and stammered, "Umm… I was wondering… Do you happen to know what You-Know-Who puts in his tea? Because I think I might be dying or something." Cautiously, she looked up.

Tom was frowning at her, and he turned to Ginny, clearly waiting for confirmation.

Ginny nodded, moving closer to Charlotte. "She's been nervous, jumpy, and zoning out. Her thoughts are all over the place." She paused, and suddenly looked closely at the brunette. "Her hands are shaking. And you can't really tell because of her eye colour, but her irises look dilated."

Charlotte blinked. Then she looked at her hands, and realized that she was trembling. She decided not to point out that it might have been caused by the rejected flight mode her body had slipped into when Ginny had decided to teach her how to kiss.

Tom stepped back into the room. "You think the Dark Lord poisoned her?" he asked, wryly. "There was nothing wrong with the cupcakes or the tea."

"I didn't even have the cupcakes," Charlotte suddenly piped up. "The frosting looked suspicious. It was green. Also, it had shiny, white dots on it."

Tom suddenly glanced away, rubbing his temple, but Ginny stared at Charlotte for a second before she broke out into a cruel smile. "Shiny, white dots? _Silver sprinkles_?" Her eyes were dancing. "His cupcakes were green and silver?" Finding this highly amusing, the redhead burst out laughing.

Tom shot Ginny an icy look. "Shut up!" he snapped. But he sounded petulant, and Ginny didn't stop tittering from behind a hand. The spy then turned to Charlotte, who was staring at them, looking lost. "You weren't poisoned," he stated. "You're just hyper."

Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. Even Ginny stopped laughing. "What?" both girls asked, blankly.

Tom quirked a shoulder, glancing away a little. "Voldemort isn't the youngest wizard in the world," he muttered. "He needs caffeine. Lots of it. Let's just say that his tea is really, _really_ strong." He smirked wryly at the looks of disbelief on the girls' faces.

Ginny turned to Charlotte. "Exhale!" she snapped, leaning in closer to her. Charlotte was glad to sigh heavily into Ginny's face. She smirked when Ginny closed her eyes and frowned, wrinkling her nose. "Oh, yes. Earl Grey." She glanced at Tom. "You may leave now," she said, stiffly.

Tom raised an eyebrow at them for half a second. "Yes, I'll leave you to your…" He trailed off and frowned, and quickly left, firmly shutting the door behind him.

Ginny sighed a little. "Now. Where were we?"

"_Ewww_!"

Ginny nodded, remembering. "Right." With that, she joined in Charlotte's disgusted shrieks of terror.

xXxXxXxXx

"What took you so long?" Severus asked. He and Percy were standing around a bare table, the chalice set in the middle.

Tom stopped in the doorway to the labs for half a second and looked the two other spies over before resting his eyes on the Slytherin. "I got distracted. In order to prepare for my future son, your future daughter and my future wife are practicing kissing techniques in there." When Severus straightened and looked at him with a sharp expression, he smirked. "Just kidding."

"You are _messed_ up," Percy muttered. "How do you think up stuff like that?"

xXxXxXxXx

A good half an hour later, the girls' throats had run dry. The Room usually would have helpfully provided them with water, but it had grown quite tired of their squealing by now. They slipped into an awkward silence, with Charlotte sitting at the foot of her bed and staring at the pictures on the wall. Ginny was sitting at the desk, seemingly lost in thought.

"You know what this whole issue has me thinking of?"

Charlotte winced. "I don't want to know," she muttered, shuddering.

"No, no, this can get your mind off it," Ginny suddenly said, turning to face her goddaughter. "You know what suggestive reasoning is?"

Charlotte had to think for a second. "Influencing a person's answer to a question by wording said question a certain way. For example, 'you do like chocolate, don't you?' would be suggestive while 'do you like chocolate?' wouldn't be."

Ginny smirked. "How Hermionian." She paused. "But, no. There's another kind of suggestive reasoning. About the future."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, now interested.

"Some people believe that prophecies only come true because we expect them to. If no one had said something would happen, then it wouldn't." Ginny raised her eyebrows at Charlotte, silently asking for her opinion.

"They're all self-fulfilling," Charlotte agreed.

Ginny nodded. "I'm just thinking… Would your parents have gotten together if you hadn't fallen into the past?" She paused, allowing Charlotte a chance to respond, but the brunette only furrowed her eyebrows, as she pondered this. Ginny continued. "But then, of course, they would _have_ to get together or else you wouldn't have been born in the first place. But they wouldn't have if you hadn't come back here… So, what happened first?" She smirked. "What came first? The chicken or the egg?"

Charlotte rubbed her forehead. She was finally starting to come off the high that You-Know-Who's tea had put her on. "It's Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox on steroids."

Ginny looked at her sharply. "What was that?"

Charlotte looked up, tiredly. "Artemis Fowl. Time Paradox is the sixth book in a series. It's - " She stopped when Ginny waved a hand at her.

"I know what it is," the redhead interrupted, scowling a little. "I stopped in the middle of the fifth book when Holly died."

Charlotte stopped short and frowned. "Holly didn't die."

Ginny looked surprised. "What?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Well, she did. But only for half a second. Artemis had a plan to bring her back to life."

The door suddenly flew open, making both girls straighten. But it was only Hermione who came in. "Hey," she said, gulping a little. Her form was tense. "I've been looking everywhere for you." She frowned. "Where have you two been all night?"

Charlotte and Ginny stopped short. Ginny then cleared her throat. "We were talking about books."

Hermione's eyebrows rode up. "Books?" she asked.

"Artemis Fowl," Charlotte and Ginny responded, firmly.

Ginny's eyes roamed over the brunette in the doorway. "What's wrong?" she immediately asked. "You look like you just killed someone."

Hermione shrugged. "McGonagall found out about us," she announced.

Charlotte's eyes widened. "What happened?" she asked. "Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded. "Luckily, your father was summoned." She winced. "There's something I never thought I'd say."

"What about you?" Ginny asked, slowly, now scanning Hermione for any fatal wounds.

Hermione massaged her head and smiled, wryly. "When she was distracted by Severus leaving, I grabbed her wand and obliviated her."

Ginny scowled. "What?!" she shrieked.

Hermione stopped short. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

Ginny looked at the other girl with a disbelieving expression. "I've been sitting around for months waiting for that woman to blow up at you two, and when she finally finds out, you go and obliviate her? I hate you!"

Hermione stared at Ginny for a long moment. "What?"

"And since when do you attack teachers?!"

"Ginny…"

"ARGH!"

"Ginny!" Hermione snapped. When the redhead glared at her, she frowned. "I didn't obliviate her. I was just trying to lighten the mood."

Ginny gaped. Charlotte leaned forward a little. "What happened?" she asked.

Hermione rubbed at her head again. "I blackmailed her."

Ginny and Charlotte glanced at each other before moving closer to Hermione. "With?" they asked, eagerly.

Hermione chuckled. "She has this really ugly facemask. I threatened to pass out pensieves of her with it if she didn't back off." She frowned, then. "Fun's not over yet, though. She yelled after me that I'll be sorry."

Before either Ginny or Charlotte could respond, a strange squeal sounded from down the hallway. It was half scared and half gleeful. A weird combination that could only be pulled off by poltergeists.

"Code Blue!" Peeves was shrieking. "_Severely_ injured Death Eater spy!"

All three girls straightened and bolted from the Room of Requirement. Peeves was dancing in the air outside, clearly waiting for them. "All nurses on deck!" he squealed.

"What happened?!" Charlotte demanded, her heart starting to pound wildly. To her right, she noticed her mother's eyes widen.

Peeves laughed. "Oh, you should have seen it! Those three were trying to do something shiny and sparkly with a cup and crown and everything just _exploded_!" He laughed a little. "I think I saw a little soul float away…"

'I think I saw a soul float away?' Hermione's heart stopped. She hadn't waited for Peeves to stop shouting before she started off toward the infirmary in a sprint. Severus had just been summoned. _Not again, dear God. Please not again…_ 'Saw a soul float away?' Tears were burning in her eyes.

The infirmary had never been so far from the dungeons. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat, she could feel the rush of her blood through her veins. It seemed like the only sounds in the world were her feet hitting the ground with each step and the shallowness of her breathing. Just as she was passing the DADA room, she stumbled over an uneven stone in the ground.

Just as Hermione started to follow, someone grabbed her arm and steadied her. She had half a second to see who it was before they started moving toward the hospital wing, again.

"Come on, Mum, falling won't help…"

Hermione almost smiled at the back of Charlotte's head. She hadn't noticed before, but Charlotte had inherited her father's witty, _charming_ humour, as well. Especially in situations that truly called for it.

They moved silently after that, and Hermione pulled ahead of Charlotte when the infirmary came into view. She didn't know what to expect or what she thought she'd do – all she could of think of was how she needed to _be_ there.

As soon as Hermione burst in the door, her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't skid to a halt fast enough and stumbled right into her future husband's arms. And it took her half a moment to realize that he seemed perfectly fine.

"Come," Severus muttered, steadying her. "Pull yourself together."

"You – Peeves said you - " Hermione stopped short, and her lower lip trembled for a second before she set her jaw. Finding nothing, she could say, she reached up and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm fine," Severus insisted, holding her shoulders. He looked like he didn't know whether to embrace her or pull away.

Charlotte stopped in the doorway, quickly tearing her eyes away from her parents. "Ew, public display," she wanted to whine. But she stopped when she saw who was standing in front of the fireplace. "How did you get here so fast?" she asked.

Ginny didn't look away from the bed she was staring at. Her expression was unreadable. "I took the wardrobe." Her voice showed as much expression as her face did.

Realizing that something was wrong, Charlotte followed the redhead's gaze. When she saw who Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore were standing over, her stomach lurched. Her boyfriend's father was pale and his veins were blue, standing out sharply against his white skin. "Is he… Is he…?"

"What happened?" Hermione asked, still looking Severus over for any injuries. "What did You Know Who do now?"

Severus hesitated a little before responding. "It wasn't him," he finally said. "We never had a meeting just now."

Hermione pulled away from him, staring up at him with wide eyes. "But… Weren't you just…?" She glanced down at his forearm. "You…"

Severus smirked, wryly. "Charlotte and you aren't good with words this morning, are you?" he asked. His expression melted into a frown and he suddenly looked apprehensive. "I wasn't summoned."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she hissed, softly.

Severus slowly nodded, guiltily. He then frowned. "Fine, I attempted to get away from our scary old deputy headmistress. Get over it. There are worse matters at hand."

"Like what?!" Hermione snapped. She was about to launch into a tirade about how he would dare pretend to be summoned when he knew how that affected her, but he interrupted her.

"What the three of us just did… Percy's taken the chalice back to the Dark Lord with a copy of his soul piece inside it. With any luck, it should trick him into believing it's the real thing." Severus stopped short at the look on Hermione's face. It wasn't one he expected.

Hermione's eyes had glazed over before she'd looked away. She was frowning and staring blankly into space. "A copy… Make him believe it's the real thing," she muttered.

Severus frowned. "Yes…" He suddenly noticed that her shoulders were growing stiff under his hands. "I warned Percy to occlude what we just did… Make him think that…" He stopped when Hermione muttered something. "What was that?"

"Occlude," Hermione murmured.

Severus frowned down at her. "What is it?" he asked.

"Occlude… Why would she…" Hermione muttered to herself. Suddenly, her eyes widened. She turned to Severus and clutched his arm. "Oh, my God."

"What?!" Severus hissed.

"It was all set up… Charlotte coming back into the past and everything that happened because of it. It was all set up. It was all planned."

End of Chapter 20

xXxXxXx

Author's note:

Sorry, sorry, sorry!! I swear the next chapter will be out sooner! (Within two weeks, I swear!) And all your questions will be answered.

Here's a quote:

"_It was you. It was you all along."_

So, dear readers, who is "you"? Who do you think did this? Was it…

a) Dumbledore

b) Voldemort

c) McGonagall

e) Charlotte

f) Ron (he's been missing this entire series… Hmmm….)

g) Other?

Tell me who you think it was in a review!


	21. It Was You Obviously

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or anything related.

xXxXxXx

Author's Note:

I am very, VERY disappointed in you, my reviewers. One of you – just ONE – got the answer right before she CHANGED it! Nobody got it right! No virtual cookies for anyone. All mine. Nyah.

Also, I am punishing you by giving you a short chapter. (Shorter than the other ones of this fic… It's still longer than the chapters of other fics out there…) Anyways, the next chapter will be longer and blah blah… Go read it. (eats cookies)

Luv

Creatress

xXxXxXxXx

Chapter 21 – It Was You… Obviously

Severus frowned, narrowing his eyes. Without saying anything, he grabbed Hermione's arm and led her past Ginny and to the fireplace. After he threw in a pinch of the dust, they stepped in, disappearing into the flames.

xXxXxXx

"Sit," Severus ordered. He pushed Hermione into her armchair by the fire before taking the one across from her. "Tell me everything."

Hermione was staring thoughtfully into the empty fireplace, but there was something odd about her expression. "I can't believe you were right all this time. Fate _is_ bullocks. Decisions are all that matters." She sighed a little, looking happy and sad all at once. "Our match wasn't made in heaven. It wasn't that the Gods decided to do it or the world came together to do this… It was one person."

"Who?" Severus demanded.

"I need a Pensieve." Hermione's tone was strangely monotonous and firm. Severus stared at her for a second before getting up to retrieve the one in his closet. He carried it back and set it down between them. Hermione leant over it and stared into its contents, mentally shifting through them until they came to the hospital memory where Charlotte first got her memory back. "Come with me," Hermione said and entered it.

Severus didn't need to be asked twice. As soon as Hermione was gone, he followed her.

"I remember everything." Severus heard Charlotte's voice before he saw her. When his vision cleared, he saw the memories of himself, Dumbledore and Hermione gathered around Charlotte's bed and his daughter lying in it. The real Hermione was standing in front of the fireplace, staring at the group.

Severus silently went to stand next to her. "Is something about to happen?" he asked, wryly.

"I should have realized that something was off when Charlotte first got her memory back," Hermione murmured.

All of a sudden, the memory around them began to blur and change. Hermione looked to Severus in surprise. "I started reading her mind when she started remembering," Severus smirked. "It'll give us a better picture."

"I see."

Severus and Hermione watched as Elizabeth woke Charlotte up and gave her the letter from her father. Charlotte began reading from it and Hermione leaned forward.

"Apparently… He just finished a large order of Evanesce potions for the ministry. He's done it, even made some extra, but exhausted himself doing it, so my mother's insisting they spend the rest of the week at my grandparents' cottage. So that he can relax." Charlotte looked up. "You think my mother's just trying to relieve the daily threat of disownment so that I can study in peace?"

Elizabeth smirked. "Speaking of Evanesce… You've got to look over Jason's Evanesce potion before he submits it."

As Charlotte and Elizabeth continued talking, Hermione turned to Severus. "Why would the ministry order Evanesce? They could just use disillusion when they wanted. Even if they needed Evanesce, it's a fifth year potion – anybody could have done it. Why approach you? And why would you make extra?"

Severus scowled at the letter Charlotte was holding. "Why would making Evanesce exhaust me?" he added. Suddenly, he strode behind Charlotte and looked over her shoulder. "Damn, I thought I'd written this letter so my own assumption would have thrown it off." He looked to Hermione. "Did I write this letter?"

Hermione didn't answer. She only frowned at the letter her daughter was holding, and ignored Severus' frustrated sigh as he moved back to her.

They continued to watch as Elizabeth, Rosa and Charlotte ran through the halls, only to be stopped by McGonagall. Charlotte tripped over the stone in the floor and Hermione slapped her forehead. "We keep tripping over that thing," she muttered. "Charlotte broke her own watch this time. In her future, she'll break Jason's as well in the exact same way. It almost got me this morning, too."

Severus silently thanked his espionage work for teaching him how to hold his laughter in.

Hermione was staring after her daughter and two friends. "And then you have Jason," she said. "He told me – he told Charlotte, as well – that when he'd finished his potion the night before, everything was fine with it." She smiled, wryly. "Neither of us really believed him."

"For shame," Severus smirked. He thought for a second. "If that letter hadn't been from me, whoever wrote it also broke into the castle to sabotage Jason. That's the assumption we're going on?"

Hermione smiled, thinly. "It's possible, isn't it?" She thought for a second as the scenery changed around them. "There's so much more. The car, for instance. How convenient is it that it just showed up at a spot her friends are regularly at? That they found it just when Charlotte needed it?"

"Deus ex Machina of life," Severus stated. "Miracles happen." When Hermione said nothing, he smirked wryly. "That's your reasoning? Someone wrote a fake letter in order to inform Charlotte that there was Evanesce in our empty house, then set up the situation so that she would need Evanesce and gave her a means to get across England to retrieve it?"

Hermione blinked off into the distance and then gave him an utterly intelligent shrug. "Possible, isn't it?" she smiled, wryly.

Severus rounded on her, starting to get a tad annoyed. "Honestly, Hermione, are you listening to yourself? Even I'm starting to think that it was fate." He stopped short at what he'd just blurted and then gestured around them before raising an eyebrow. "This wouldn't be a rhetorical, sarcastic way to present your arguments, would it? Are we in the middle of a debate – fate vs. human control?"

Hermione suddenly gave him an irritated look. "Grow up," she told him. Before he could answer, she turned away as the scenery once again started shifting.

"Grow up? _Grow up?_ Did you just tell me to - ?"

"I told you to gain a bit of maturity. I didn't tell you to grow old enough to lose your hearing." Hermione smirked as she made her way to the car where Charlotte and Tom were sitting in the front seats. Practically feeling Severus' irritation at that, she almost laughed as she climbed into the back, sitting behind Charlotte.

Severus stood outside the car and glared at her for a second before getting in to sit beside her. He faced forward and turned his steely eyes to the back of Tom's head. "So _that's_ Elder's spawn?"

"Now, now," Hermione said, casually. "Look, his tie is green."

"I think my grandfather pushes this to make it go…" Charlotte was muttering in the front seat.

Severus took some satisfaction in Tom's sharp inhale as the car shot up off the ground. "It's a pity you can't hurt a memory."

It took a second for that statement to settle on Hermione. She slowly turned toward Severus, trying not to look as gleeful as she felt. "What's wrong?" she asked, innocently. "Why do you hate him so much?" She craned her neck to take a better look at the boy. "Prefect, too."

Severus only scowled, but said nothing.

And then, Tom signed his own death warrant. "After exams are over, you want to go somewhere?" he asked the brunette beside him.

Severus' scowl blackened. He raised his eyes to the ever expanding sky above them and leaned back against the seat. "This is a torture no parent should ever have to endure," he muttered. "Watching my daughter flirt and get asked out…"

Hermione laughed, softly. "Now, now. There are worse things in the world." She winced, remembering the horror Charlotte must have endured the night before. "Like getting stuck underneath the bed while your parents are snogging on it."

Severus sat up and gave Hermione a disgusted look. "That's horrible. Why would you think of something like that?" he asked, sounding honestly offended.

Hermione turned away to face the front. The wind had lifted a few strands of Charlotte's hair and was blowing it straight behind her. Hermione could have easily reached them. She smiled. "When do you think you started teaching her how to occlude?"

Severus shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares?" he asked.

"Why would you?" Hermione prodded.

Severus gave her an exasperated look. "Why not?" he asked. "It's a useful skill. It's power. It kept her safe when she was at the Riddle House, didn't it? Or else, the Dark Lord would have found out about us."

Hermione frowned and then turned to Severus and gave him a significant look. "How fortunate."

Severus understood immediately. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's already happened – their little tea party. I _know_ it has happened, so, in the future, I prepared her – _will_ prepare her – so that she would be ready when she gets captured." He was suddenly angry at himself for not thinking of it earlier.

"Nothing ever happens without a reason," Hermione agreed. She sighed, and then, quite bravely, leaned over against his shoulder. "Nothing's ever what it seems." She closed her eyes.

Severus looked down at the young woman beside him and suddenly had an urge to stroke her hair. His fingers tingled, but he stayed put. Instead, he swallowed. "I'm sorry I worried you with the fake meeting," he said.

"Don't bother apologizing," Hermione murmured. Her eyes were still closed and she looked as peaceful as ever as she added, "I will make you pay dearly for it."

Severus suddenly chuckled. "I'm terrified."

"Now… How do you land this?"

Hermione's eyes snapped open, and she and Severus straightened. They sat still as Charlotte lowered the car into the backyard of their house.

"Wow…" Hermione breathed, staring at the back of the house. It all looked very neat, comfortable and _homey_. "If I venture to say that we've done _pretty_ well…"

Severus was staring around at the house, and its surrounding areas. "Why does it feel like I've been here before?" he mused.

"Aw, you feel at home," Hermione couldn't help remarking. Before he could respond, she called, "Come!" Charlotte and Tom were already moving around to the side of the house.

Tom stopped at the side of the house to stand guard, and Severus and Hermione followed Charlotte to the front door. Their daughter quickly entered the house and they hurried to keep up with her. Once inside, they focused on the girl alone – if the circumstances had been different, Hermione would have stopped to study the décor.

Severus stood right behind Charlotte as she started murmuring the words to open the door. He scowled. "Open – just a bunch of Latin words that could mean open?" he frowned. "This is not the way I do things," he told Hermione. "Whoever wrote that letter and broke into the castle also broke into our home and changed my password!"

Hermione watched Charlotte disappear into the labs and followed her. "So we're starting to narrow it down, eh, Severus? Who do you think has the power to break into Hogwarts and our home? And mess with your passwords?"

Severus scowled, his heart starting to race. "I can think of two wizards. The war is over, so one of them is dead." He followed Hermione and Charlotte into the basement. "Dumbledore!" Of course! That old coot! All the pieces fit! This was just the kind of meddling, twinkling…

"Severus! Anytime today?!"

Severus suddenly realized he'd stopped on the staircase to utilize every fiber of his being in his internal rant against his boss. Scowling, he made his way down the stairs to where Hermione was waiting.

"Look…" the Gryffindor said. She gestured toward the table Charlotte was at. The Evanesce seemed to glow with its own light. "There's nothing else on that table."

Severus saw where she was going. "Dumbledore might as well have put up signs pointing to it, along with flashing lights. How obvious can he get?" he snarled.

"A Slytherin would have been more subtle, eh?" Hermione asked, dryly.

Severus only smirked. Then, his gaze caught the wardrobe. "It's doors are already open, just waiting for her to step in." He suddenly scowled, feeling quite cross with himself. "This is an obvious set-up. Why had we not realized it before?!"

"You're starting to drive me insane…" a feminine voice came from upstairs.

Severus and Hermione whipped around to face the top of the staircase. "That's me," Hermione said.

"You're obvious, too," Severus suddenly snapped at her.

Hermione turned to glare at him. "It's obvious to point out that _I'm_ obvious!"

"I would have thought I'd started driving you insane years ago…" Severus' voice came.

In the lab, Charlotte started fumbling with the Evanesce. Severus and Hermione watched as horror washed over Charlotte's face when she didn't turn invisible like she'd expected. Having no other choice, Charlotte stumbled toward the wardrobe. Hermione cocked a head. "You know something that's never occurred to me?" she asked.

"The secrets of the universe?"

Hermione ignored him and continued. "Charlotte would rather face her claustrophobia here than face _you_."

Severus actually found this highly amusing. "Dumbledore was actually quite clever in this," he remarked. A thought struck him and he frowned. "But I would never have agreed to any of this. How did he ensure that I would come back to scare Charlotte into the wardrobe?"

The scene around them dissolved and a sudden gust of wind whipped around them. A second later, they were standing over the Pensieve in Severus' room.

Hermione looked at Severus with a worried expression. "About that…" she murmured.

Severus furrowed his eyebrows, trying to figure out what was on Hermione's mind. She suddenly seemed very nervous.

"Sit," Hermione said. She herself sunk onto the couch across him. For half a second, she rubbed at her temple before she spoke. "Okay… Remember a few hours ago, when you told me – how did I know you hadn't made it easy for me to break into your stores in my second year?" She fidgeted. "Did you mean that?"

Severus gave her a disbelieving look. "You really need to sort your priorities!" he snapped.

Hermione looked up at him and gave him an even look. "Could Dumbledore break into your labs if he wanted to?" she asked.

Severus raised an eyebrow. Then, he smirked wryly. "No, probably not."

"Then how did he change your passwords at the house?"

Severus thought about this, but could come up with no witty response. His heart was starting to beat faster in his chest and there was tingling under his skull.

Hermione stared at Severus, watching him carefully. "No one could break into your labs. No one. Not unless you let them." She sighed. "Fate is nothing. Everything is under your control. Isn't it, Severus?"

Severus' heart stopped. He was suddenly hot and cold at once.

"Who has the power to break go to Hogwarts, set up Jason's Evanesce and capture that car? Who knows Charlotte well enough to know what she'd do in these situations? Who planned our lives and always kept control of them?" Hermione met his eyes. "It was you, Severus. It was you all along."

xXxXxXx

A/n

Thaaat's riiight…

Severus' reaction in the next chapter…

REVIEW!!!


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